


The Boy on the Roof

by zhongwritings



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brief Mentions of Blood, Chenji-Centric, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Hell Challenge, Humor, M/M, Math Major!Chenle, Mentions of Sexual Assault (but only in one chapter and there is a tw), Misunderstandings, Nomin Side Story, Romance, Slow Burn, art student!jisung, forgive the tenses... they are Not Good, there are tw, this is a part of me please treat it kindly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 50,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhongwritings/pseuds/zhongwritings
Summary: Jisung is an art student who develops a crush on the boy who always falls asleep on the roof outside the art studio he works in. Every day he draws small sketches of the boy until one day he decides to sketch him into the background of one of his paintings. The night after he finishes the painting, he falls asleep, only to wake up and find himself within the painting. The next night he paints another scene, this time painting the boy on a larger scale. Every night he paints the boy, without knowing what he looks like or who he is. He begins to fall in love with the faceless being he meets in his dreams every night, completely unaware that the boy he’s been falling in love with is actually Zhong Chenle, a math major who he has come to hate after meeting him one night at a department social.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 23
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter 1

You know who you fall in love with.

You know their face, their body, their mannerisms. You know them.

That’s what falling in love is; knowing someone so incredibly well, that their existence becomes a part of yours.

For Jisung, falling in love is sketching out the silhouette of the boy who sleeps on the rooftop outside of his art studio every afternoon.

For Jisung, falling in love is wanting someone whose face he has never seen.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Jisung has been studying art his entire life. It is something that he loves, something that he is passionate about, something that keeps him going.

Though since entering the art program at Seoul National University last fall, Jisung has found it nearly impossible to create art that he is proud of.

_Wednesday, March 11th_

Jisung sighed, leaning back in his desk chair and gazing up at the ceiling. His unfinished architecture homework was staring up at him from where it was sprawled across the surface of his desk. He rubbed his eyes, blinking away the sleep that was trying to creep into his vision.

“You should get some rest,” a voice called from the doorway, startling Jisung. He turned and saw his roommate, Jeno, standing in the hallway that separates their bedrooms from one another.

“I have to get this homework done for my architecture class,” Jisung replied. “It’s due tomorrow at 8 and I know Dr. Choi won’t even look at it if it isn’t on his desk before class starts. No rest for me!”

“Well, how much do you have left?” Jeno asked, walking over and placing his hand on the back of Jisung’s chair. He peered over his shoulder and examines the papers on the desk. “Oh jeez, you guys are on ornamentation? This chapter sucks.”

“Believe me,” Jisung answered, flipping through the packet of questions he was holding. “I know.”

Jeno hummed for a moment, his eyes glazing over the words on the packet.

“I have an idea,” Jeno presented, a smirk coming over his lips. “Well... it’s more of an offer, I suppose.”

“What is it?” Jisung questioned, his eyes narrowly watching Jeno as he sits on the edge of his bed.

“I’ll do your homework for you, and you take my place at the math department social on Friday. How about it?” Jeno suggested, a smile folding over his face.

“The math department social?” Jisung asked. “But why do you even need to go? Aren’t you an architecture major? And wait- won’t they be expecting you?”

“One of my classmates asked me to accompany her,” Jeno explained. “But it sounds incredibly boring, so I want you to go! She begged me to go because her ex is gonna be there or something? And she needs a cute date to make him jealous or some shit- look, I don’t know, okay? Just go for a few hours, and I’ll do your homework, sound good?”

Jisung sighed, rolling his eyes as he mulled over Jeno’s offer.

A few hours at a social gathering can’t be too bad, right?

“Fine,” Jisung agreed, already rising from his desk and gathering the papers. “But you need to do my homework for the rest of the semester… okay?”

“Yeah whatever,” Jeno nods, taking Jisung’s homework and walking towards the door. “This’ll be on the kitchen counter in the morning. Don’t forget it!”

_Friday, March 13th - 6:30 pm_

Friday came faster than Jisung was hoping.

It was half past six and he was standing in his bedroom, staring at himself in the mirror that was hanging on the back of his door.

He was wearing fitted black slacks and a white silk dress shirt, his black hair dangling loosely in front of his eyes.

Jisung clicked his tongue as he grabbed his phone and stuffed it in his back pocket, leaving his bedroom to enter the kitchen, where Jeno was.

Jeno smiled at Jisung from where he was perched on the counter, a bowl of cereal in his hands.

“You’re leaving now?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Jisung replied. “Yeji’s dorm is near the math building, but it’s still like a 10-minute walk from here.”

“Ah, got it,” Jeno said, nodding. “Just hang for a few hours, okay? Yeji knows you’re not exactly eager to hang out with a bunch of math nerds, so she should let you go early.”

“Alright,” Jisung agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’m assuming you’re going to a party, right?”

“That’s right!” Jeno smiled. He hopped down from the counter and placed his bowl in the sink. “I’ll see you in the morning, Ji.”

“Night, Jen,” Jisung smiled, heading out the front door.

It was mid March, so it wasn’t too cold outside. The scenic walk across campus was good to help clear Jisung’s mind.

Jisung was happy to have somewhere to be, honestly. He had been spending most of his time in the art studio off campus, a space that had been used for art minors before the program grew to its current size. 

The university was working on building a space on-campus for the art students, and it was almost finished. Jisung couldn’t wait to work in a new environment, as the old building was nice, but it wasn’t sparking much inspiration. He needed something new to help drive his creative-side.

Jisung landed upon Yeji’s dorm after a short walk, and he quickly shot her a text to let her know that he had arrived.

~

The math department social was less of a social and more of a party with the lights turned on, but Jisung didn’t mind. He found himself standing alone against one of the walls of the ballroom, watching as Yeji laughed heartily at her ex-boyfriend’s jokes.

 _It's probably cool to leave now, right?_ Jisung wondered. _My ‘date’ is happily chatting with her ex, who is the only reason why I’m here anyway. I might as well just head home._

Jisung thought it would be rude to just leave without telling Yeji, so he stepped away from the wall and walked over to where she was standing on the other side of the room.

Yeji smiled at him when he got closer, and stepped away from the group of people she was talking with to approach Jisung.

“Hey,” Yeji called.

“Hey,” Jisung answered. “I think I’m gonna call it a night, okay?”

“Oh no!” Yeji said, her eyebrows furrowing. “Wait, did you have fun? Ah- shit, I’m sorry! I brought you here and I ignored you all night, oh my god I’m so sorry Jisung!”

“No, no, it's fine!” Jisung tried. “I’m just glad you had fun! It was a good night, really! I’m glad I got to get out of the studio for a little while.”

“Ah, no, but- sorry, shit,” Yeji said, sighing. “God, I feel terrible. I know you said you had a good night but, uh I just feel so bad. You should at least grab a drink before you go! Please, Jisung.”

Jisung paused for a moment, looking down into Yeji’s pleading eyes. He could tell she felt guilty for leaving him alone the whole night.

What’s one drink?

“Sure, sure,” Jisung answered.

Yeji smiled brightly at him and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the bar.

“Two vodka sodas, please,” She asked the bartender. “So, did you meet anyone new?” Yeji asked, turning back to Jisung.

“Ah, no, not really.” Jisung replied. “I mean, other than you!”

“Well at least we got to become friends,” Yeji said, smiling. “You said you’re an art major right?” She asked

“Yup!” Jisung replied.

“Wow… what do you want to do with that? Be a professor?”

“I’m not really sure yet,” Jisung answered. “I really think it would be cool to maybe create comics or have my paintings in an exhibit. But of course, I would need traction for that. Everything is actually pretty relative right now. Since I’m still only a sophomore, I know I still have time, so I’m trying not to rush it.”

“Ah, I get that,” Yeji said, nodding. “Well, whatever you end up doing I’m sure you’ll be great at it!”

“Hahaha thanks!”

The bartender placed their drinks on the bar, and before Jisung knew it, he was three drinks and a shot in- which was highly unusual, as he rarely drank. 

Yeji seemed to be having no problem with the alcohol, and as the two stood and chatted, a voice called out to her.

“Yejwi!” The voice came from across the room. “Hey Yej! I didn’t know you were here!”

The owner of the voice approached the pair; it was a shorter boy with bleach-blonde hair. His face was flushed, and based on the way he was slurring his words, Jisung could tell he was drunk.

“Hello, Chenle,” Yeji nodded to the boy. “Do you feel okay? You look like you’ve drank quite a bit…”

“I’m okay!” Chenle cheered. He was holding a clear glass with a bright blue liquid in it. He threw his arms over his head, making the majority of the liquid slosh out of the glass and onto the floor. “I’m just glad I got to party!”

Jisung looked over to Yeji, and although she was very clearly friends with the boy, it was prevalent that she didn’t want to deal with his drunken conversation much longer.

Taking a deep breath, Jisung stepped forward.

“Hey, man, why don’t you drink some water?” Jisung suggested. “You’ll have more fun if you’re sober.” He smiled, trying to be as friendly as possible

Chenle peered up at Jisung, narrowing his eyes at the boy’s face as if he was trying to recognize him. He laughed, and without another beat of hesitation, Chenle tossed his drink onto Jisung’s white silk shirt.

“Whoops,” Chenle said, jutting out his bottom lip in a mock-pout. “I think I feel pretty sober now.”

Jisung’s eyes widened as he glanced down at his shirt in amazement.

The room was silent as Jisung stared at Chenle’s red face. He nodded and took a breath to calm himself down.

 _This drunken loser isn’t worth your time, Jisung._ He tried to reassure himself. _But… he ruined my silk dress shirt. So maybe he can get a taste of his own medicine for just a moment._

“I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re gonna regret doing that,” Jisung said, feeling the alcohol in his body, pumping him up and giving him an abnormal amount of courage. 

Before he could think anymore, Jisung was stepping forward and throwing a punch into Chenle’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! this is my second fanfiction ever! (i do write aus on twitter, though). this fic was made possible because of something called the 'hell challenge' that was created by @_renjaune_ on twitter. also a huge thank you to my beta léo (@_tildawn on twt) for editing this for me! i spent the last month writing this, and it has so many different feelings and memories of mine inside of it. i really, truly, honestly, hope you enjoy it. thank you for even clicking on it. please anticipate the rest!  
> -  
> also please ignore any mistakes in dates or minor information,, this is beta read but i’ve changed so much in the final days that there are bound to be a few mess-ups lol,, always remember suspension of disbelief!! (also i promise it gets better as you read ;) thank you <3  
> ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> 
> oh follow me on twt to find my other writings and send any questions or kind words to my curiouscat! both: @zhongwritings
> 
> comments are much appreciated as well ^^


	2. Chapter 2

The fight didn’t last longer than 30 seconds, before Jisung was dragged out of the building by one of the upperclassmen, who just sighed as he apologized to Jisung in Chenle’s stead before rushing back into the ballroom, leaving Jisung completely alone.

“What the fuck just happened?” Jisung asked to the empty night air. 

After waiting for a few minutes, Jisung realized no one was coming outside to get him, so he started walking back to his apartment.

Somehow, the walk back was completely different from the walk over. Jisung was annoyed by the cool spring air as it bounced off his shirt, illuminating his skin in a sticky chill. 

He just wanted to be in his bed, like he had planned to be an hour ago.

It was half past eleven when Jisung finally reached his apartment, and while he was on the way in, Jeno was on his way out.

“Hey Ji- What happened?” Jeno asked, his eyes widening at the sudden appearance of a roughed-up and dirtied Jisung.

“Long story,” Jisung replied, pushing past Jeno to enter the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water, leaning back against the sink as Jeno walked into his line of sight. 

“I have some time,” Jeno tried, his eyes going soft as tears started to well in Jisung’s eyes. “Talk to me.”

Jisung sighed, and he felt the tears fall onto his already wet shirt. “I feel like an idiot, Jen.”

“Why?” Jeno asked.

“Because,” Jisung started. “I was about to leave the social, but I thought it would be rude to leave without saying bye to Yeji, and of course she insisted that we have a drink and chat before I left, so we went to the bar. Well, you know that I like never drink, so even a small vodka soda was enough to give me a bit more bark than I usually have. So Yeji and I are talking, and here comes this little blonde kid- drunk as hell, of course. He started talking to Yeji, and it was pretty clear that they were friends, but I don’t know man… she just looked uncomfortable talking to him when he was drunk. So, I told him to drink some water to sober up.” Jeno nodded as Jisung continued. “He looked at me with these eyes like… like he hated me or something? And before I knew it, he threw his drink on me.”

“He what?” Jeno exclaimed. His eyes were wide with surprise as Jisung continued on.

“He throws the drink,” Jisung continues. “And for a moment I’m like, ‘oh it’s fine, just be cool! He’s a drunk kid, no need to worry.’ But something came over me and I just… I hit him…”

Jisung could have sworn he saw Jeno’s jaw hit the floor.

“So, yeah,” Jisung said, his cheeks red with both a blush and his tears. “I just feel stupid. I hit the kid, and then I walked back here, and ugh… everything feels so stupid. I bet all the math department kids are laughing about me now. I’ll never make any new friends at this rate.”

There were a few moments of silence before Jeno started to laugh. 

He laughed loudly, loud enough to wake up the neighbors and for a noise complaint to be filed, loud enough to shake the walls of the apartment, loud enough for Jisung to realize how ridiculous this all was.

Jisung stared down at Jeno as his knees hit the floor, his eyes filled with tears as he lost his mind with laughter.

“Jen?” Jisung tried. “Why are you laughing?” Jisung couldn’t understand why, but he joined Jeno in laughing. He sat on the cold linoleum of the kitchen and laughed. It felt good.

After the two boys were over their laughing fit, Jisung finally got to ask Jeno why he started laughing in the first place.

“Because,” Jeno began as he caught his breath. “You punched some kid in the face because he threw his drink on you, and then! You came home and cried about it. Jisung, this is the best thing you’ve ever done. I- this is a great story to tell to make some friends! God, you never fail to crack me up.”

Jisung huffed out a sigh as he finally stood up.

“You should get to your party, Jen,” Jisung said. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint whatever random boy-toy you’re playing around with tonight.”

“Hey!” Jeno shouted. “I plan on getting into a relationship very soon, okay? I just want to have my fun before college ends! But yeah, I guess I should get out of here. I’ll see you in the morning, Ji!”

~

Once Jisung was showered and ready for bed, he laid down under his covers and cuddled into the plush fabric. 

Deciding that he was going to sleep in tomorrow, Jisung quickly checked his emails before calling it a night.

He found that one email in particular caught his eye.

_ATTN: SNU Students under the Art Department_

_The new art building will be having it’s grand opening this Saturday the 14th of March at 9:00 am. Please do be inclined to attend the event._

_Light refreshments will be served._

_\- Dr. S. Choi_

Jisung nearly flew out of his bed at the words he was reading on the screen. The new building was finally done being built, and it was opening tomorrow? It felt too good to be true.

Without wasting another second of sleep, Jisung turned his lights out, making sure to set an alarm so that he would be able to attend the grand opening.

_Saturday, March 14th_

The next morning, Jisung woke up to the bright chirping of birds outside his window. The light buzz of last night’s alcohol echoed within his head, but Jisung didn’t seem to care- the new art building was opening today.

Jisung crawled out of bed and chose an outfit that he didn’t mind getting paint on and left his dorm after leaving a note for Jeno to let him know where he went.

The walk to the new building was less than five minutes, and Jisung knew he was in trouble. If he could get to the building this quickly, that meant that he wasn’t going to be seeing the walls of his dorm room for a while now.

Being in the studio was Jisung’s favorite place.

Even when he was in middle school and didn’t have a studio to work in, he divided an entire section of his bedroom just to work on his art. And then when he finally reached high school, he had a studio to work in, but was only allowed there during operation hours.

Although the commute to the off-campus studio was annoying, Jisung was glad to finally have access to a room where he could work on his art whenever he wanted.

And now that the new building was open, Jisung knew that he was definitely going to be getting his money out of SNU now.

~

Jisung stood at the back of the crowd as Dr. Choi made a short speech and cut the ribbon, letting in all of the students and department members who waited for the grand opening.

When he entered the building, Jisung couldn’t help but gasp at the sheer beauty of the design. He had heard from Jeno that some of the seniors in the architecture program had helped with the planning and design as a part of their final last spring, but this was so much more modern than Jisung could have ever imagined.

He was quick to climb the stairs, taking himself to the fifth floor- where 50 individual studio rooms were available for reservation.

Before anyone else could beat him to it, Jisung selected a random room from the 50 that were available and reserved it for as long as possible- one month.

~

Room 27 was the room Jisung had the luck of getting, and as he roamed through the seemingly endless halls of the fifth floor, he finally found the room he was looking for.

A door that stood secluded from the rest of the floor, room 27 was down a corridor on the right side of the building. It was one of three rooms that were on this side of the building, and once he entered, he realized why.

The studio couldn’t have been more than 100 square feet all around, and the walls were built-in drawer units that were able to house hundreds of art supplies. In the center of the room was an easel and a small stool. There was one wall that was just a window, and Jisung could see that his view was that of the secluded roof space that connected his building with the math department building next door.

Jisung smiled as he sat down on the stool. 

He took in his surroundings kindly, slowly unpacking his art bag and organizing his things in the drawers around the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Jisung’s favorite thing about SNU was the privacy he had. Most of the buildings were open 24/7, meaning that he was allowed to study in the library at 3 am if he wanted to.

The system that the university had created for the new art building was something that Jisung loved even more; he was able to reserve a private studio room for an entire month, and he was able to do it through a computer. As minimal human interaction as possible. Just the way Jisung liked it.

Before he realized it, it was half past eight and he hadn’t eaten anything yet. Jisung quickly checked his phone, only to see a dozen messages from Jeno, asking where he was.

_**Jeno (12:30 pm)** _

_hey_

_where are you?_

_jisungggggg_

_what are you doing?_

_lmk when you’re done w whatever you’re doing_

_**(8:15 pm)** _

**__** _bro it's been hours_

_where tf are you_

_text me when you’re alive i wanna get dinner and tell you about last night,,_

_**Jisung (8:36 pm)**_

**__** _hey omg_

_sorry oof_

_they opened the new art building so.._

_**Jeno (8:40 pm)** _

**__** _lol got it_

_i’ll walk over now_

_you free?_

_**Jisung (8:41 pm)**_

**__** _Yup_

_**Jeno (8:42 pm)** _

**__** _kk_

Jisung packed up his bag and left the room, making sure to admire the beautiful array of lights that adorned the roof beneath his window.

_I can definitely get used to this view._

Jisung walked down the stairs and out the door, happy to see Jeno standing outside the building.

“Hey Jen!” Jisung called. He walked over and greeted the older boy. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing,” Jeno replied. “I just wanted to tell you about what happened last night. You’re probably gonna be pretty surprised, actually…”

“Hmm… okay…?” Jisung said. “Do you want to go somewhere to eat and then tell me about it?”

“Sure,” Jeno said, smiling.

The two boys made their way over to a small Japanese restaurant just outside of campus. It was their favorite place to eat, and the pair had been eating there since they first met two years ago.

“So,” Jisung started once they were sitting in their booth. “What did you want to tell me?”

Jeno smiled before he started to speak.

“Let me try to paint the picture for you…” 

_Friday, March 13th - 12:30 am_

After Jeno had left Jisung, he made his way over to Mark’s apartment.

Mark was one of Jeno’s best friends since childhood, and he was also an architecture major at SNU. He had an apartment right outside of campus, where most of the best parties happened. He was a good guy, and Jeno really loved him.

When Jeno walked into the apartment he could already smell the alcohol, and he was beyond pumped up to party.

He looked around the living room, trying to find a familiar face, when his eyes caught on a bright pink head of hair- hair Jeno had never seen before.

He narrowed his eyes at the back of the person’s head, and he could have sworn time was slowing down as they turned around, revealing the most handsome face Jeno had ever seen.

Suddenly, Jisung’s words echoed in his head.

_“You wouldn’t want to disappoint whatever random boy-toy you’re playing around with tonight.”_

_Not tonight, Ji._ Jeno thought. _I think this is love at first sight._

Jeno took a deep breath as he walked over to where the pink haired boy was dancing. He smiled as the boy turned around and made eye contact with him.

“Hi!” The boy yelled over the music.

“Hey!” Jeno called. “I’m Jeno! What’s your name?”

“Jeno?” The boy shouted. “I like your name! My name is Nana!”

“I like your hair, Nana,” Jeno said, smiling.

Nana smiled back, grabbing Jeno’s wrist and pulling him towards the kitchen.

“You don’t have a drink, Jeno,” Nana said, pouring a few random liquids into a red solo cup and handing it to the other boy. “Why don’t we chat for a bit?” 

~

“... and I don’t know,” Jeno continued. “He was like… so handsome? It felt like love at first sight, Ji.”

“Wow,” Jisung said, sipping his tea. “So are you gonna see him again? Did anything else happen? I want to know everything Jen!” 

“Well,” Jeno sighed. “I went to go to the bathroom, and when I came out… he was gone. I guess maybe something happened and he had to leave, but I didn’t see him with anyone else, so I don’t really know what happened.”

“I’m sure you’ll see him around,” Jisung tried. “You said he had pink hair, right? So it’s not like he’ll be easy to miss.”

“You’re right,” Jeno agreed.

The two continued on with their meal, heading back to their apartment once they were done eating.

_Saturday, March 14th - 11:00 am_

Chenle could feel his head spinning when he woke up.

The light that was bleeding in from behind his curtains stung his eyes, and he quickly stuffed his head back under the covers.

A few minutes later, he heard a faint knocking on his door.

After debating whether or not to pretend that he was still asleep, he finally cleared his throat and croaked out a hollow ‘come in’.

He heard someone huff as they sat on the edge of his bed.

“Let me see your face,” the voice spoke. 

Chenle sighed as he slowly lifted the covers from his head, taking his time as he sat up, trying to ignore the relentless banging that echoed in the back of his head.

“What happened...?” Chenle asked curiously. When the boy sitting on his bed didn’t answer, Chenle pressed on. “Jaemin? What happened last night?”

“You got drunk and some dude punched you in the face after you threw your drink on him,” Jaemin explained simply. “You went to the department social last night, remember?”

Chenle sat in bewilderment as he tried to recall the previous night’s events. Bits and pieces of the night came back to him, and he could vaguely see someone’s face in his mind’s eye.

“Oh yeah,” Chenle started. “Hyunjin was there. He told me to drink water...? I think. And I got pissed because fuck Hyunjin! So I threw my drink on him. He was bothering Yeji, too. So... he deserved it even more.”

“Hyunjin?” Jaemin questioned. “Hyunjin wasn’t at the social last night. The guy you fought with is some sophomore Yeji brought as a date. God, you idiot. You threw your drink on some random kid because you thought he was Hyunjin?”

Chenle was sitting with wide eyes when Jaemin looked back at him. 

“It...” Chenle began. “The guy I threw my drink on... he wasn’t.. Hyunjin?”

“No,” Jaemin said, shaking his head. “He was not.”

“Fuck, Jaem!” Chenle exclaimed. “What am I supposed to do? Ah, shit- I need to apologize to Yeji a-and whoever that kid was!”

“It’s fine,” Jaemin said. “Yeji texted me this morning saying she’s fine, and the kid isn’t one to hold a grudge. I mean, he did... uh, give you that black eye so... I guess you’re even?”

Before Jaemin could say anything more, Chenle was flying out of bed and rushing to his bathroom.

“I have a black eye!” He yelled.

“That’s what I said,” Jaemin said, nearly laughing.

Chenle stomped out of the bathroom and sat on his bed beside Jaemin.

“How was the party last night?” He asked, sighing as he turned to face Jaemin.

“It was good,” Jaemin smiled. “I met a few people... but, uhm it was nothing special I guess.”

“Well I’m sure Mark will throw a banger after finals,” Chenle replied. “You’re better off warming up to the school through actual schoolwork. Are the transfer papers done clearing?”

“Yup,” Jaemin answered. He stood from Chenle’s bed and walked to the door. “I start classes on Monday, so I guess I should go get all the stuff I need. I’ll bring back lunch okay?”

“Okay,” Chenle nodded as he watched Jaemin head out the door.

_Monday, March 16th_

Chenle rubbed his eyes and walked to class.

The first class of the day was level one architecture. Chenle didn’t mind the class, but he was just looking forward to getting it over with. It was a requirement at SNU for all students to take an art class, and since he was a math major, architecture was the best option for him.

After his architecture class was over, Chenle straightened his back and marched into his level three calculus class.

This class was significantly smaller than Chenle’s other classes. It was mostly math majors, with the occasional engineering or biology major.

When Chenle entered the small lecture hall, he took a deep breath. He could feel the eyes on him.

“Chenle~” Someone called from across the room- it was Johnny. “How are you feeling this fine morning?”

“Fine,” Chenle said, setting his bag down and perching himself up on his desk. “Why?”

“Just wondering~” Johnny sing-songed, walking down the steps over to where Chenle was. “Who did your make up today?”

Chenle’s mouth went into a thin line as Johnny started to laugh.

“I know you have a big black eye under all of that concealer!” Johnny yelled, cackling. 

The other students started to laugh too, and eventually everyone was standing around Chenle.

“Enough,” Chenle tried. He threw his head back as all of his classmates started trying to examine his face. 

“But what happened?” Felix asked, reaching up and grabbing Chenle’s chin to steady his head.

“You don’t know?” Johnny asked, his eyebrows raised high on his forehead.

“He threw his drink on Yeji’s date at the math social and the kid punched him in the face,” Doyoung explained. “Stupid move, if you ask me.”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose!” Chenle protested.

“Then what?” Doyoung asked. “You threw your drink on a stranger by accident?”

“I didn’t think he was a stranger…” Chenle grumbled.

“Then who did you think he was?” A new voice came cutting in, from the back of the classroom. Chenle looked up, locking eyes with the boy. “Who did you think it was Lele?”

“That’s none of your business, Hyunjin,” Chenle said, climbing off his desk and into his seat.

The rest of the students settled into their seats, as their professor had also just entered the classroom.

Hyunjin smiled and sat beside Chenle.

Chenle’s greatest rival since he first moved to Korea was Hyunjin. The pair had known one-another since Chenle’s second year in high school, and ever since Chenle took his first place spot, Hyunjin has had a vendetta against him.

~

Chenle huffed as he exited the classroom.

 _What to do now…_ Chenle wondered. He looked down to his watch, noting the time; _11:15. Time to take my medicine._

Chenle walked into one of the bathroom’s on campus and took out a small bottle full of pink pills. After taking two of the pills, he headed up the stairs of the math building, looking out the window at the scenic view before him.

 _It’s such a nice day._ Chenle thought. _Maybe I should take a nap outside?_

He stepped out into the early spring air, letting the crisp wind caress his skin.

He looked over to the finished art building that had been built beside the math department’s building, and nodded his head.

“I haven’t been able to relax out here in so long because of their construction,” Chenle said to himself. “But it looks like they’re finally done.”

He walked over the short breezeway that connected the two roofs, and landed upon a secluded section of the new art building. 

_This looks perfect._

And without another thought, Chenle laid out on top of the warm asphalt of the art building’s roof, covering himself with his jacket, and eventually falling asleep.

_Monday, March 16th - 11:30 am_

Jisung went back to the art studio on Monday after his classes were finished. It was 11:30 in the morning, and as Jisung settled into the room, he decided to take out his lunch and eat before he started to draw. 

A few bites into his sandwich, Jisung peered outside, and his eyes caught onto a fluffy tuft of white hair. After further examination, Jisung was able to see that there was someone laying outside on the roof beneath his studio room. They were laying under the sun with their jacket covering their torso.

Jisung smiled at the sight. 

_He’s probably a tired freshman._ Jisung thought. _I feel bad for the kid. He’s probably exhausted trying to prepare for finals. I guess he isn’t bothering anyone… so… I guess I’ll leave him be._


	4. Chapter 4

_Monday, March 16th, - 7:00 pm_

That night, Chenle wandered into his shared apartment with Jaemin, and was glad to see the older boy standing in the kitchen with a spatula in his hand. 

“I made stir-fry,” Jaemin said, smiling. “Go get changed and come eat!”

“Okay~” Chenle called, and stepped into the hallway.

Chenle loved Jaemin’s cooking. He always knew just how to balance spicy and savory, never making the food too much of anything, so when he decided to move in with Chenle, the younger boy was more than excited to eat his cooking every day.

“Can I tell you something weird that happened at the party?” Jaemin asked between bites.

“Sure,” Chenle replied. “Did you meet the boy of your dreams or something?”

“Haha,” Jaemin mocked. “No, I just uhm, I don’t know, I met this guy, yeah. We talked for a bit but then Yeji called me telling me you were hurt so I rushed out of there without saying goodbye.”

“What?!” Chenle exclaimed, disappointment clear in his voice. “You should have just stayed! I was fine, Jaem.”

“I know that now,” Jaemin sighed. “But of course, at the time, getting a call from someone you barely know in the middle of the night screaming about your best friend getting into a fight, was something I was concerned about.”

“Did you at least get his name?” Chenle asked curiously. “Because I might know him if he’s a student here.”

“...his name?” Jaemin recalled. “I… I forgot…”

“Jaem!” Chenle shouted. “How could you forget his name?”

“You know how I am!” Jaemin tried. “I could barely remember yours when we first met!”

“We were three!” Chenle scoffed. “Do you at least remember what he looks like?”

“He…” Jaemin started, remembering the boy’s face in his mind’s eye. “He had a smile like a puppy. And dark brown hair…” He trailed off, smiling.

“You’re hopeless,” Chenle sighed, throwing his head back.

_Tuesday, March 17th_

The next day Jisung returned to the art studio a little later than he had the day before, and the boy with the white hair was back, sleeping in the same spot that he had been the day before.

_Maybe there’s something wrong with him…_ Jisung wondered. _I hope he’s okay._

He shook his head and turned back to his easel, where a blank canvas lay- taunting him with it’s purity.

“Why can’t I get anything down?” Jisung asked the room. “I have no inspiration for anything anymore… Don‘t tell me I’m spending $25,000 a year just to stare at a blank canvas for eight hours a day.”

He pushed his hands through his hair as he tried to think of anything in the room that could inspire him.

The blank gray walls stared back, them being dauntingly boring.

Lacking any sort of idea, Jisung stood up and started to pace through the small room.

“Should I just leave?” He asked himself, staring out at the sun that was still high in the sky. “No, no that would be incredibly stupid of me.”

His eye once again caught the white hair of the boy on the roof.

“Does he not have any worries in the world… to just lay out like that in the middle of the afternoon? God, I wish I were him.”

Opting to just use the space to study, Jisung sat beside the window with his English notes in his lap.

His hand twitched to sketch something, but Jisung suppressed the urge.

_I’m not going to sketch some stranger…_ Jisung thought. _That is so… far from right._

_Tuesday, March 17th - 6:00 pm_

“I’m home!” Jisung called as he entered the apartment he shared with Jeno. “Jen! I bought groceries!”

“Coming!” He heard a voice call from down the hallway.

Jeno emerged from his room, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“Wow fresh groceries?” Jeno exclaimed. “And Park Jisung himself bought them? What’s the occasion?”

“Haha,” Jisung mocked. “I just thought that you and I needed a bit of cheering up after this weekend, so I figured a nice home-cooked meal would be just right.”

“I can agree with that,” Jeno said, nodding his head. “What did you get to make?” 

Jisung smiled sheepishly as he lifted a plastic bag in front of his face.

“Meat.”

“This is why we’re roommates,” Jeno cheered, walking over to Jisung and pulling him into a side hug. “I’ll grill it then. You can chop the vegetables up, okay?” “Sounds good!” Jisung replied.

The two boys stood in the kitchen and cooked together, the comfort of being roommates with a best friend warming them both.

“Did anything exciting happen today?” Jeno asked once they were sat and their food was plated.

“The exact opposite,” Jisung replied. “I pretty much just spent five hours studying and staring at blank paper because I have zero inspiration for anything.” “That sucks,” Jeno said, sighing. “I’m sure you’ll find something to inspire you, right?” “Maybe,” Jisung said. 

_Wednesday, March 18th_

Jisung walked up to his studio room after his architecture class, his brain wrinkled with new information regarding the structure of 18th century churches and chapels.

In need of creative release, Jisung decided to practice painting.

As he was settling in, he looked out the window, and once again saw the boy asleep on the rooftop.

_Huh._ Jisung thought. _He’s out there again? What a weird kid…_

_Monday, March 23rd_

Jisung trudged into his 8 am architecture class, slowly finding his seat at the center of the lecture hall.

“Hey,” a voice greeted from beside him. He looked up, locking eyes with his friend, Donghyuck. “Good morning!”

“Morning,” Jisung greeted warily. “You’re not in this class, though? Did you transfer in right at the middle of the semester or something?”

“You’ll see,” Donghyuck said, nodding to the front of the classroom, where Dr. Choi was standing. “Something exciting is about to happen.” 

Jisung knew that when Donghyuck had a grin on his face, it couldn’t mean anything good, so he just sighed and leaned into his seat, taking note of the increase in students and unfamiliar faces.

After the students had finished piling into the room, Dr. Choi shut the door and coughed. Jisung could tell he was tense, especially with new eyes on him.

“Good morning, class,” Dr. Choi began. “If you haven’t noticed, we have quite a few new faces in our classroom this morning. I’ll explain. Basically, Dr. Bae, the Opening to Architecture professor, is on maternity leave. Unfortunately, this means that the beginning architecture students are in here with us, in the secondary course. Now, this wouldn’t raise such an issue if it weren’t for the fact that the majority of students in the beginning arc class are math, English, and science majors, who, honestly, probably have no interest in architecture and our studies. I know you’re all just trying to fulfill a requirement and get your credits, so, for the new students who will be joining us for the remainder of the semester I will be mandating simpler work from the gradebook I had created from when I first began teaching here. Don’t worry, it is level one work! For my current students, please, help the new kids out. I’m sure they’re confused and frustrated, and class time is going to be incredibly difficult for them, so let’s all cooperate and be nice, alright?”

After the students agreed, Dr. Choi began to teach.

Jisung looked over to Donghyuck, who was sitting with his arms crossed.

“Why do you look so happy?” Jisung asked.

“Because now,” Donghyuck started, a devilish smirk on his face. “I can ask Mark for help studying! And we can have some alone time~”

Jisung fake gagged and turned away, returning to the lecture without sparing the new students a second glance.

~ 

Once his classes were over, Jisung headed right over to his studio room, and of course, he found the boy asleep outside his window

He smiled as he went back to his homework, occasionally glancing over to where the boy was laying, never stirring or tossing in his sleep.

It went on like this for a few weeks.

Jisung would arrive at the art studio after class, and there the boy would be- asleep with his fluffy white hair, the back of his head facing Jisung.

After all of these days, Jisung still had yet to see his face.

One night, Jisung stayed extra late to try to catch a glimpse of the boy’s face, as he had now become fascinated with the mystery of the white-haired boy who would sleep outside of his art studio every afternoon.

_Friday, March 27th - 8:00 pm_

Jisung was sure to finish all of his homework early the night before, because he wasn’t sure how long the boy would be staying.

Most days the boy would already be there when Jisung would arrive, and he would disappear at random times throughout the time Jisung would be immersed in his art.

Jisung shut out the lights in his studio room, and sat on a pillow right in front of the window. He was going to wait.

_Maybe this is a bit weird._ Jisung thought to himself. _But I can’t keep fighting this curiosity. I need to know who he is… I mean… what kind of person sleeps outside for hours at a time? I hope he’s okay..._

As the sun was long past it’s setting point, Jisung sat and watched the sleeping figure stir and eventually rise from it’s position.

The boy stretched momentarily before walking over to a flight of stairs adjacent from Jisung’s window, but right before he headed down the stairs, he stopped.

Jisung watched as the boy approached a gutter and crouched down onto his knees. Jisung tried his best to make out what the boy was doing as he rolled his sleeves up and put his arm down into the chute. After fishing around for a few moments, he pulled something out.

From what Jisung could tell, the thing the boy was holding in his hands was a black ball of fur, and then- it meowed.

Jisung could see the boy jump around for a few seconds and then finally tuck the kitten into his jacket before bounding down the stairs- never once revealing his face to Jisung.

_So he’s sweet too?_ Jisung wondered. He was almost able to feel himself physically swoon over the boy as he replayed the scene of the boy dancing with the kitten in his arms over and over again in his head.

_Friday, March 27th - 9:00 pm_

Chenle rushed into his apartment with his arms wrapped tightly around his torso, his jacket tucked into itself.

“Jaemin!” Chenle called as he entered the living room. “Are you home?”

When he received no response, Chenle sighed and unraveled his jacket from his body, revealing a fluffy black kitten.

“Hey little guy~” Chenle cooed. He quickly ran over to the hall closet and took out a blanket, folding it into a circle to lay the kitten out on. “Get comfortable, okay? I’m gonna make you some dinner!”

He smiled as the kitten snuggled into the blanket, and watched it as he opened a can of tuna and poured out a bowl of milk.

“Jaemin is going to be so mad at me~” Chenle sang as he approached the kitten. “But I don’t care~ Because you’re here~ And that is all that matters~” 

He laughed brightly as the kitten took it’s time in eating and drinking, and he immediately went online to order proper food and a bed for it -and maybe one too many toys-.

Jaemin arrived home a few hours later, and was delighted to find Chenle asleep at the dining room table with an unfamiliar kitten curled up in his neck.

_Friday, March 27th - 9:30 pm_

Jeno was walking out of the apartment as Jisung was walking in, a dopey smile on his face.

“What’s got you so smiley?” Jeno asked, slipping on his sneakers. “Something good happen?”

“No, not really,” Jisung replied. “Off to the library?” “Yup,” Jeno answered. “Some of us care about our final grades!” 

“Hey!” Jisung called. “I care! Just not as much as I care about my art studies. Anyway, I’ll leave dinner in the microwave for you, okay?” “Yes mom,” Jeno said, smiling. “I won’t be back until morning though, so it’ll probably be breakfast.” “It’ll be in the fridge, then,” Jisung sighed. “Be safe.”

_Saturday, March 28th_

Jisung was sitting on the stool in his studio room, staring aimlessly at the blank canvas sitting in front of him.

_Maybe I need to draw instead._ Jisung thought, eventually leaning over to his bag and taking out his sketchbook and pencils.

It was early in the morning, and after yesterday’s failure to see the stranger’s face, Jisung told himself that he would see it. No matter what it takes. He would see the boy’s face. 

He waited and waited, both stuck trying to figure out what to draw and when the boy would show up.

Jisung felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and took it out to reveal a few messages from Jeno.

_**Jeno (7:38 am)** _

_hey Ji~_

_where did you go so early?_

_the studio??_

_**Jisung (7:39 am)**_

_hey jen_

_yeah im at the studio_

_what’s up?_

_**Jeno (7:40 am)** _

**__** _oh nothing! i just wanted to come by and hang_

_im so bored rn and i have a meeting in the art building at 11 so..._

_is it cool if i come and watch you draw until then?_

_ill bring breakfast !!!_

_**Jisung (7:41 am)**_

**__** _...breakfast_

_of course you can come hang <3_

Jeno arrived relatively quickly, and Jisung was happily greeted with bags full of breakfast food as he let Jeno into the tiny room. 

They cleared out the center of the room, and sat next to each other with their food in front of the window.

“So,” Jeno started as he sipped his coffee. “What have you been drawing? Anything interesting?”

Jisung sighed and reached for his sketchbook from where it was on the floor.

“Yeah, I mean,” Jisung flipped to the blank page that he had been working on all morning. “If you count nothing as ‘interesting’, then yeah it's revolutionary.”

Jeno laughed as he flipped through the book as he ate. “Your other stuff is good, though! I mean you’re not gonna have every page filled to perfection right?”

“I guess,” Jisung huffed. “I mean, I just have like zero inspiration. It’s hard to get anything down when you don’t even know what to- Oh fuck!” He exclaimed, rising to his knees as he gazed out the window.

“What?” Jeno asked, looking to where Jisung was looking out the window. “What’s wrong?”

“No,” Jisung sighed, sitting back on the ground in defeat. “It’s nothing.”

“Nothing?” Jeno questioned. “That didn’t look like nothing...”

“It’s just that kid,” Jisung said, pointing to the boy who was now laying outside on the roof. “I’ve been trying to figure out who he is for weeks now, but I’ve never seen his face.”

Jeno raised his eyebrows and looked out to where the boy was. “...Why?”

“Just because, I guess.” Jisung concluded. “I mean he sleeps there every day so I can’t help but be curious. He’s been sleeping out there since the day I started coming here, so. I can’t help but wonder who he is...?”

“I get that,” Jeno said, rising from where he was on the floor. He gathered the garbage and looked down to his watch before stepping towards the door. “Maybe he can be your inspiration then?”

“What do you mean?” Jisung asked as he peered up at Jeno. “Inspiration for what?”

“Well...” Jeno continued. “If you’re so interested in him, then maybe try drawing him. Since he’s like a new obsession or something? Like, maybe draw whatever face you want on him. Give him a character. Write him a story. You know?”

“Yeah,” Jisung replied, nodding his head. “I think I get what you mean. Thanks Jen!”

“No problem, Ji,” Jeno said, smiling. “I’ll see you at home tonight.”

~

Jisung sat back in his stool and watched the boy as he breathed. 

_Is this weird?_ Jisung wondered. _This isn’t weird. No. I just need… inspiration… yeah! I need inspiration and the best thing for me to do right now is to use this extremely weird kid who sleeps on the roof outside my window every day as a drawing specimen. Even though he doesn’t know… hm._

Jisung warily lifted his pencil to the paper and began to sketch the boy.

After a few short swipes of his pencil, there Jisung was, drawing the boy from the roof over and over, page after page, stroke after stroke.

For hours, Jisung drew the boy.

He lost himself in the white tuft of fluffy hair, the simple clothing, the minute things about the boy that Jisung couldn’t help but appreciate.

After a few hours, Jisung took the rest of Jeno’s words into consideration, and drew out small character profiles for the boy, making faceless little characters with different outfits, whatever he could remember.

Even after the boy had left, Jisung continued on drawing him.

Late into the night, Jisung drew him.

It was almost as if once he had started, it had become addictive- like he couldn’t stop.

_Saturday, March 29th_

The following day, Jisung continued on with his sketches of the boy, and for days on end that was all he drew.

The boy on the roof.

Sometimes Jisung would draw him with the small black kitten in his lap, or with the lights of the roof illuminating him as he laid out late into the night.

It started as something to relieve his lack of creativity and inspiration, but as the days went on, Jisung found himself encapsulated by the boy in his drawings. He even doodled him in the margins of his notes, and would create a small chibi version of him that would cheer him on in the headers of his exams.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warnings for this chapter: mentions of sexual assault

_Monday, April 6th_

Jisung loved drawing comics as a kid and figured that this couldn’t be much different.

He had just created a character based off of someone he -sort of- knew and used that as inspiration for his major. It was harmless, really.

He was spending all of his time drawing- as he should be. 

In preparation for his exams though, Jisung realized he had to draw a bit more than a random boy who slept on the roof outside of his studio room. 

So once again, Jisung found himself staring at a depressingly blank canvas in the gloom of an early Monday evening.

Jisung wondered if there was a way to conjure ideas into his head. He had a painting due for his painting class, and even though the assignment details were simple -paint something that changed your view on life on a 3 ft by 4 ft canvas- he was still struggling.

 _Something that changed my view on life?_ Jisung thought as he stared out the window at the setting spring sun. _Nothing. Nothing has changed my view on life. I’m just an average kid with an average life. Nothing has changed me or my view on life._

After huffing for a few more minutes, Jisung picked up his paintbrush and decided to let his heart decide.

_I’ll figure something out._

His eyes wandered across the colorful palette of oil paints that sat beside him, and he decided on a few oranges and yellows to try and replicate the sunset that sat before his eyes. 

Jisung continued on like this, slowly adding more and more paint to his canvas until he had an entirely too familiar scene in front of him.

_The view from this window._

But there was one thing missing. One thing that took all meaning from the painting.

_The boy on the roof._

Jisung didn’t want to be weird, so he narrowly painted the boy into the back of the painting, right where the trees met the horizon, and there the boy sat- sleeping, as he always was.

_Monday, April 6th - 1:30 am_

Jisung left the painting on the easel so it could dry, and warily wandered into his apartment, sleep heavy in his eyes.

After showering and eating a quick dinner, Jisung was lying bundled under his covers, happy to be able to sleep for the few hours he had until class the next morning.

_Monday, April 6th - ?:?? am_

Jisung stirred awake, blinking his eyes as he took in his surroundings.

 _Where am I?_ Jisung wondered as he felt the cool breeze on his face. _Oh. I’m asleep._

He could vaguely recognize where he was. It was a place of comfort to him, even now.

_Am I on the roof outside of the studio room? Why am I here?_

Jisung stood from where he was and looked up to the window he was usually sat at, painting away. 

And there he was -another version of him- painting aimlessly as he glanced from the canvas to the roof and back again.

_Hmm. I guess I’m dreaming about the roof. Makes sense, since I spend so much time staring at it anyway._

Deciding to take a look around, Jisung climbed down the stairs that the roof boy had traveled down with the kitten all those nights ago.

He kicked at the concrete, walking towards the trees that were on the edge of the courtyard.

_I’ve never been over here before. Maybe I should go lay in the grass until I finally wake up._

Jisung lifted his foot to step onto the grass but found himself losing his balance and falling backward onto the ground.

_What the hell?_

He tried again, this time going to push his hand into the grass, but was rejected once more, his hand bouncing back into his face.

_Why can’t I touch it?_

Jisung shook his head as he got up off of the ground, opting to go inside of the building instead.

Once again, he wasn’t able to walk any farther than a certain point, and he was pushed back like an invisible wall was forcing him away.

 _Wait…_ Jisung thought, running back to the stairs and flying up them. He tried to look over the trees, and there he was, the boy from the roof, laying sprawled out on top of the horizon line, his back being stuck by up-right tree branches.

_I’m not on the roof. I’m in my painting…_

And then, as quickly as it began, the dream ended, and Jisung was waking up to the blaring noise of his alarm clock.

_Tuesday, April 7th_

Jisung harshly rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of his bed, rolling his neck backward as his thoughts wandered to his dream.

_Why was I in my painting… how did I even get there… what a weird dream._

Jisung sighed as he walked into his bathroom, opting to just brush his teeth and shower like everything was normal.

 _I’ll have to talk to Jeno about that._ Jisung thought. _Because… that was definitely strange._

_Tuesday, April 7th - 10:30 am_

Chenle woke up late on Tuesday morning, and as he hobbled out of bed, he could tell he slept on his back wrong.

“I made breakfast!” Jaemin called from the hallway. “Chenle I heard your alarm going off! You better come out here and eat!”

Chenle grumbled as he slipped a shirt on and entered the living area.

“My back is killing me,” Chenle said as he sat at the dining room table. “Do you have Advil or something? I slept all wrong last night.”

“Hmm,” Jaemin said as he searched through his backpack, that was sitting on the ground beside the front door. “Here,” he tossed Chenle a small bottle full of pills and went back to the stove. “I made pancakes. Hopefully, that’ll help you feel better!”

“God, it feels like I went camping or something,” Chenle groaned. “You know how it feels when you sleep on the ground? Like that.”

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying,” Jaemin agreed. He slowly walked into the dining room with a plate full of pancakes and placed it down in front of Chenle. “You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

_Thursday, April 9th_

Chenle was sitting in his room working on homework when Jaemin came in.

“What’s up?” Chenle asked, turning around in his desk chair.

“What do you think about me getting a job?” Jaemin asked, leaning against Chenle’s dresser. 

“I mean… I don’t care,” Chenle answered simply. “But why? Do you need help with money or something? Because I can-”

“No, no!” Jaemin said, laughing as he interrupted Chenle. “It’s just… I’m trying to help my mom with moving and everything, and she’s too stubborn to ask my brother for help, so I wanted to get a job to maybe get her some new appliances or whatever. I think she deserves it… after everything. Anyway, would that be alright with you?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind at all,” Chenle said, nodding.

“Okay!” Jaemin cheered. “I’m thinking of applying at the library. They have positions open for the night shift on the weekends, so you’ll probably be alone most nights if that’s okay?” “It’s really fine, Jaem,” Chenle replied, a thin smile coming across his face. “I just want to make sure you have time for everything. I mean, you just transferred here. You don’t want to put too much on your plate, alright? As long as you’re taking care of yourself, that’s all that matters to me.”

“I’ll be careful with everything, Lele,” Jaemin said, smiling as he turned to leave Chenle’s room. “Oh- I’m actually going to visit my mother over the weekend, just so you know. And I won’t be around much tomorrow, so if you need me, you’re going to have to call, okay?”

“Alrighty!” Chenle called, already turning back to his work.

_Friday, April 10th - 7:00 am_

Jaemin was getting onto the train early so he would be able to spend the entire day with his Mother.

What he had not anticipated was the sheer amount of people who would be joining him on his train ride to the center of the city.

Jaemin stood uncomfortably against the door of the train, squished between a man in a suit and the cold glass of the door.

He huffed in complaint, knowing for a fact that the man could spare a few inches of space, but wasn’t.

 _Why is he so close to me?_ Jaemin wondered as he pressed himself even closer to the door, trying to escape the close proximity of the stranger. _This is so fucking gross._

As the train halted to a momentary stop, Jaemin prayed the man would either get off or move. But, of course, he didn’t.

As even more people piled into the train, Jaemin started cursing himself for not sleeping in an hour longer just so he could have avoided the current situation he was in.

The train began to move, and Jaemin stepped even farther into the door’s space, trying desperately to avoid the man as he pressed himself into Jaemin.

 _What the fuck?_ Jaemin thought in frustration. _If this train wasn’t so packed, I would have pushed him off of me by now, but I can’t even get half an inch of space between us-_

Just as Jaemin was starting to think of what to say to the man to get him to back off, he felt another person’s back press against his.

_Huh?_

Trying his best to see what was going on with the limited peripheral vision he had, Jaemin could see that there was now a new person standing behind him, cutting between the space he was previously sharing with the man.

Jaemin readjusted himself as he looked in the reflection of the train door’s window, trying to make out the back of the person behind him.

From what he could see, it was a younger man with black hair. He was wearing a black baseball cap and a leather jacket. 

His back was broad and expanded across the space of Jaemin’s back almost twice as much.

Jaemin tried to turn around to thank the other boy, but with the minimal space he had, he wasn’t able to turn around at all.

Jaemin smiled triumphantly as he caught the rotten expression of the man in the suit in the window’s reflection.

The rest of the train ride went smoothly, Jaemin occasionally having to press his back against the back of the boy who stood behind him, but he didn’t seem to mind.

 _I’ll have to thank him when we get off, then._ Jaemin thought, a content smile gracing his face.

Once he reached his stop, though, Jaemin got off the train through the doors he was standing beside, and the stranger went in the opposite direction.

Jaemin tried to call for him, but as the boy slowly disappeared into the crowd, he realized his shouts were falling on deaf ears.

 _What the hell…_ Jaemin thought, pouting as he made his way out of the train station and to his mother’s house.

_Tuesday, April 14th - 2:00 pm_

That afternoon, when Jisung got to his studio room, there was no sleeping boy outside the window.

 _Where is he?_ Jisung wondered. 

He stared at the canvas in front of him and narrowed his eyes at it in curiosity. Pushing it aside, he set up a new canvas, this time painting the same scene of the window’s view, but with the boy painted right in the foreground. 

He placed his silhouette right in its usual spot, where he slept curled up in the middle of the roof.

_Maybe he didn’t come back today because… I painted him in? Did I… kill him?_

Jisung began to sweat as hundreds of thoughts flooded his mind.

Was it possible that he killed the boy? Did he erase his existence, and that’s the reason why he isn’t asleep on the rooftop today?

Jisung was quick to fill in the trees and background of the painting, rushing to complete any other homework he had. He had to talk to Jeno about his dream, and the boy, and his new… ability? 

He also couldn’t wait to dream again, just in case he runs into the boy in his dream again. 

_Tuesday, April 14th - 8:00 pm_

Jisung had just arrived home early from the studio room, and he could smell the scent of pizza wafting from the dining room and into the entryway.

“Jen?” Jisung called, setting down his bags. “I’m home early!”

“I got pizza!” He heard Jeno yell from the dining room. “Come eat!”

Jisung walked into the dining room and was greeted by Jeno, who was taking the pizza from its box and plating it for the two boys.

“You’re back early,” Jeno said, sitting down across from Jisung. 

“Yeah,” Jisung replied. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something… but it’s probably gonna sound weird… so, like, let’s eat first and then chat, okay?”

“... alright,” Jeno agreed.

_Tuesday, April 14th - 9:00 pm_

After the boys were done eating, they cleaned up their mess, and then sat in the living room together.

“So,” Jeno began, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. “What’s up?” 

“Alright,” Jisung started. “Just listen. It’s going to sound very… strange… but, just, please listen. Okay?”

Jeno nodded, urging Jisung to continue. “So I started sketching little drawings of the kid that sleeps on the roof as you suggested. And, well, I guess I got kind of obsessed with him. Like, the character! It was nice to draw something out that exists… but doesn’t have an identity. To me, at least. So, it was just drawings for a while. Then, I got a little carried away and painted a small silhouette of him in the background of my draft for the painting final I have. And… well… that was yesterday, right? And then, I went to sleep… and I was in the painting in my dream. And he was there, in the dream. But- this is where it gets weirder, he wasn’t on the roof today, at all.” Jisung rambled on and on as if he was losing his train of thought, getting lost in the story, and blurring the lines between his dreams and reality. “So now I’m sort of thinking that I killed him. Like. What if his existence is just because of me, and now since I dreamt of him, he’s like banished to my dreams forever or something-” 

“Jisung!” Jeno shouted, halting the boy. “Calm down. You didn’t kill him, okay? That isn’t possible, at all… Maybe he just didn’t want to sleep outside today? He might have gotten busy or something, you never know! I’m sure he’s fine. But, why would you dream of him? Like, how did you do it? Can you do it again?”

“I’m going to try,” Jisung concluded, nodding vigorously. “I painted another painting with him in it, so I’m going to see if he ends up in my dream again tonight.”

“...okay,” Jeno said, laughing. “Then go to sleep, and let me know what happens, okay?”

“Okay!” Jisung cheered, nearly jumping from the couch to go get ready for bed. “I’ll tell you what happens tomorrow at dinner!”

_Tuesday, April 14th - 10:30 pm_

Jisung stuffed himself under the covers as quickly as he could, not even bothering to dry his hair from his shower.

He drifted off to sleep fairly quickly, his exhaustion catching up to him.

A few moments later, Jisung blinked awake- and there he was, laying on the roof of the art building. He smiled, jumping to his feet and spinning around until his eyes caught on the sleeping figure that lay near the edge of the building.

Taking a deep breath, Jisung walked over to the figure before he reached out and patted it’s shoulder.

A faceless person stirred towards him, the person -the boy from the roof- being a black silhouette, just as he had painted him earlier that day.

“H-hello?” Jisung called to the boy.

“Hello,” the boy greeted. His voice seemed familiar, but Jisung couldn’t place where he knew it from. “Do I know you?”

“Oh!” Jisung stammered. “Uhm, yeah… maybe? I’m Jisung.”

“Hi Jisung,” The boy greeted, rising to his feet and standing before Jisung. He was only a few inches shorter than him. “I can’t seem to… remember my name… hm. Well, I’m sorry about that!”

“No, no!” Jisung tried, reassuring the boy. “It’s fine!”

 _So it can’t be that easy, can it?_ Jisung wondered. _I can’t just learn his name that simply. Huh._

“What are we doing here?” The boy asked. “Are we hanging out?”

“Uhm, sure,” Jisung agreed. “You could say we’re hanging out, yeah.”

“What do you want to do?” 

“Hmm,” Jisung pondered over the boy’s question for a moment. “Why don’t we name you?”

“Okay!” He cheered.

“What do you like?” Jisung asked.

“...I like…” The boy thought for a moment, trailing off.

“Cats?” Jisung asked, recalling the memory of the boy taking the kitten from out of the gutter. “Do you like cats?” 

“Yes!” 

“Hmm, well, maybe we could call you ‘Whiskers’? That’s a cat’s name, right?” Jisung questioned.

“What about Jing Xu?” The boy asked. “It means whiskers in Chinese.”

Jisung looked at the boy for a moment before nodding his head. “Sure. Jing Xu it is.”

He didn’t bother asking why the boy suggested he call himself by a Chinese word.

_I’m sure it’s probably because I learned Chinese in grade school. It’s probably just memories resurfacing from my childhood because I’m dreaming._

“What do you want to do?” The boy -Jing Xu- asked. “Do you want to play a game?”

“Okay,” Jisung agreed. “What game?”

“How about patty-cake?” Jing Xu suggested. “I learned it when I was a child, and I remember my friends and I used to play until our hands turned red! Let’s do that Jisung!”

“Okay, okay,” Jisung said, sitting down on the ground so he and Jing Xu could face one another.

_Wednesday, April 15th - 7:00 am_

Jisung woke up with a smile on his face and bruises on his hands.

He took his time getting ready, singing along to his morning playlist and dancing throughout the house, making sure to wake Jeno in the process.

“I dreamt about him!” Jisung called through Jeno’s bedroom door. “And now I’m gonna make breakfast to celebrate so you better get up!”

He moonwalked into the kitchen, sliding around the hardwood floor as his _Best of the ’80s_ playlist blasted through his speaker.

Jeno groggily marched into the kitchen and sat at the counter, slowly dancing along to Take On Me as Jisung flipped pancakes in the air.

“So I guess you had a good dream then?” Jeno asked. “Did you get to talk to him, or was he just there?”

“I talked to him!” Jisung cheered. “But something weird did happen…”

“Something weirder than this?” Jeno joked.

Jisung rolled his eyes.

“You know what I mean,” Jisung started. “He didn’t have a name. Which made sense, because I guess my dreams are only limited to whatever knowledge I currently possess. Anyway, we decided to give him a name, and I suggested calling him Whiskers because I saw him rescue a kitten once. And for whatever reason, he suggested we call him Jing Xu, which means ‘whiskers’ in Chinese apparently. But like, I have a very limited knowledge of Chinese, you know. So, I can’t help but wonder how he knew the translation.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Jeno said, taking a bite out of a strawberry. “There’s so much information and knowledge that we don’t even know we know. And I mean, these dreams are very… strange anyway. For all we know, he could be having the same dreams.”

“Hmm,” Jisung said, pondering the thought for a moment. “I’ll have to see if he’s on the roof today. But for now,” he said, looking up to the clock on the microwave. “I need to get to arc. Dr. Bae’s kids are all in our class now because she left for maternity leave, so now I get to deal with Donghyuck twice a week for two hours. Yay me!”

Jeno laughed as he wiped his mouth, waving Jisung towards the door. 

“We need to all get together soon!” He called as Jisung slipped his shoes on.

“I agree,” Jisung said, straightening his hair. “Maybe you should try and find your Nana! Or whatever the pink haired guy’s name was. Find him and I’ll find Jing Xu, and then we can all hang out. How about it?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jeno said, rolling his eyes. “Now get to class!”

Once Jisung was gone, Jeno leaned against the fridge with a huff.

 _My Nana, huh…_ Jeno thought, thinking back to when he saw the familiar pink haired boy on the train

_Friday, April 10th - 7:00 am_

Jeno sighed as he stepped out of his apartment.

 _I can’t believe Dr. Park suddenly wants us to buy a book that they don’t even sell on campus…_ Jeno thought as he bounded down the hill to the campus’s gates. _The semester is almost over and I’m taking time out of my busy schedule to go buy a fucking book in the center of the city… ugh._

He walked leisurely to the train station, as he was dreading the early morning rush of passengers he was sure to encounter.

 _Maybe if I get on at the next stop there will be fewer people?_ Jeno thought, opting to take the longer route in hopes of being able to avoid the rush of students that would be getting on at the university’s stop.

Once he arrived at the next station, though, Jeno realized he had wasted his time in walking there.

The train was packed to the brim with people, most of them being nine to five employees and students, but that didn’t negate the fact that Jeno had to be squished in with all of them.

Just as he was about to settle in next to the standing passenger’s area in the center of the train, a bright pink mop of hair caught his eye.

 _Is that…?_ Jeno wondered, trying to see if the person he was looking at was the pink haired boy from the party. _Nana?_

Upon further investigation, Jeno was able to see that there was an older man that was pushing Nana against the door.

_What the fuck?_

Without a second thought, Jeno harshly pushed through the crowd of people, stepping through them in time with the train movements, as not to disturb the pink fairy that was pressed against the door.

He stood tall in front of the older man, pressing himself firmly between the two of them, leaning his back against the other boy’s gently, as if to say ‘I’ll protect you’.

Jeno sent a brutal glare to the other man, which sent him back a few inches away from Jeno, giving both him and Jaemin more space to stand.

Jeno stayed like that for the rest of the train ride, being sure to not let anyone get even an inch closer to _Nana._

 _I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk to me…_ Jeno thought as the train approached the final stop. _He did leave the party in the way he did… I’ll just do what I can from afar, then._

Once the train had finally come to a halt, Jeno strode forward and away from Jaemin, leaving him alone on the opposite side of the platform.


	6. Chapter 6

_Wednesday, April 15th - 8:00 am_

Jisung walked into class and quickly found a seat beside Donghyuck.

“Morning!” Jisung greeted.

“Hey,” Donghyuck said, smiling. “You seem to be happy this morning. Did you get some action last night or what?” 

“No!” Jisung exclaimed, his cheeks flushing. “I just woke up in a good mood, is all.”

“Yeah sure,” Donghyuck said, his smirk widening. “If you ever need help getting a girl or something, just let me know. I can definitely help-”

Before Donghyuck could finish what he was about to say, a soft voice interrupted him.

“Hey, Hyuck?” The voice said.

Donghyuck turned and saw a vaguely familiar face staring back at him.

“Hey…?” Donghyuck started, staring at the brown haired boy.

“Jaemin,” Jaemin said, nodding slightly. “Sorry to interrupt. But uhm, do you happen to have any cooling patches on you? I know it’s sort of random, but Lele’s hands are hurting him this morning, and I didn’t have time to grab any on my way out of the house.”

“Cooling pads?” Donghyuck questioned, digging through his backpack. “I don’t-”

“Here,” Jisung said, extending a small white packet out to Jaemin. “I’m Jisung, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Jaemin said, narrowing his eyes at the younger boy. “I’ll have to pay you back or something.”

“No, no,” Jisung said, smiling. “Don’t worry about it.”

Jaemin just nodded as he walked away, moving to the back of the lecture hall.

“Who was that?” Jisung asked, turning to Donghyuck. “It looked like he knew you but you didn’t know him.”

“He’s a friend of a friend,” Donghyuck explained. “He just transferred here I think. We met briefly the other day, but I don’t remember him having brown hair… so I guess I just forgot who he was for a second.” “Well what color was his hair when you met him?” Jisung asked curiously.

But before Hyuck could reply, Dr. Choi was beginning the lecture.

~

Jisung took his time walking over to his studio room. He knew he should be spending time in the library studying for his other finals, but he couldn’t help but wonder if the boy from the roof was actually gone or not. The excuse he had made for himself was that since he’s an art major, that meant his painting final should come before his other assignments; and now here he was, walking over to the art building, with next to no real intentions of painting, but rather… ponder over the existence of the boy on the roof.

Jisung had six classes that he was currently trying to balance, on top of his addictive habit of ‘spending time’ ‘with’ the boy on the roof.

He had his architecture class and his English class on Monday and Wednesday, his painting, calculus, and art history classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and then on top of all of that, he was enrolled in an online graphic design course on the weekends. 

Sure, it probably wouldn’t make much sense to anyone else, to spend so much time in an art studio when you have so much other work, but Jisung didn’t care. He needed the escape. He would figure everything else out along the way.

Jisung entered the room quickly, and nearly sprinted the short distance to the window to see if the boy from the roof was there.

And he was.

There he lay, basking in the sunlight of late Spring. 

_Thursday, April 16th - 5:00 pm_

Jisung spent all of his time outside of class trying to study and prepare for his upcoming exams.

He knew that sitting in his studio room and painting all day wasn’t going to give him straight A’s on his finals like he wished it would.

He was stressed about school, and Jing Xu, and the actual boy on the roof. To Jisung, it seemed as if his life had very suddenly taken a turn in a new direction since the night he went to the math social.

 _That kid._ Jisung thought. He was sitting at his desk in his bedroom, mulling over his English homework when the boy’s face suddenly popped into his head. _He was pretty cute- now that I think about it. But… who knows… maybe he was a witch and he casted a spell on me to make my life change drastically?_

“Everything has been different since he threw his drink on me,” Jisung said to himself, sighing. “Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling me to change? Hmm… Well, whatever.”

_Thursday, April 16th - 12:00 am_

When Jisung was falling asleep that night, he couldn’t help his excitement as he imagined conversing with Jing Xu again.

Before he knew it he was opening his eyes, greeted by the warm sunlight of the rooftop. 

“Jing Xu?” Jisung called.

“Coming!” The other boy responded. He was standing at the tree line at the end of the courtyard, picking flowers. 

He quickly came running up the stairs with a large bundle of wildflowers in his hands. He handed them to Jisung with a smile -at least Jisung assumed that’s what it was.-

The pair sat out and just stared at the flowers for a while, until Jisung finally spoke up.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked.

“Sure,” Jing Xu replied. “What’s up?”

“Do you believe in fate?” Jisung asked, leaning back on his hands. He looked curiously to Jing Xu, who seemed to be mulling over the question in his head.

“Yeah,” Jing xu said, nodding. “I think a lot of things make sense together, like, in a sequence? Maybe? Like, if it’s meant to be, it will be.”

“If it’s meant to be, it will be?” Jisung asked. “I’ve never heard someone say that before.”

“It’s something I’ve always said,” The other boy said. “Like, everything is planned out, and what’s meant to come to you, will come. No matter what.”

Jisung nodded, staring down at the ground.

“If it’s meant to be, it will be.” He muttered.

_Friday, April 17th_

Friday was another day of studying for Jisung.

More stress, more anxiety, more hair-pulling assignments.

But there was one thing to look forward to.

_Friday, April 17th - 12:00 am_

That night, Jisung visited Jing Xu again.

The pair sat with their feet dangling off of the roof, the cool Spring breeze rolled through, pushing Jisung’s hair back. He sighed.

“Is everything alright?” Jing Xu asked. 

“Yeah,” Jisung replied. “Why?”

“I just thought that when someone sighed, that it meant they were stressed out,” Jing Xu said. “Is that true?”

“Hmm.” Jisung sat and thought for a moment. Sure, he was stressed out. He had finals coming up that he hadn’t even thought about studying for, and he was quickly realizing that with all the time he spent in the studio room, his grades were slowly starting to slip.

“Well?” Jing Xu asked, pulling Jisung from his thoughts.

Jisung looked over to the boy. He was faceless. He was a simple black silhouette that Jisung had painted earlier that afternoon, and yet he was able to express emotions that Jisung couldn’t even dream about. 

“I guess you could say I’m stressed,” Jisung admitted, a small smile coming across his face once he saw how genuinely concerned Jing Xu had become. “But, it’s nothing to worry about, really.” “Can I help at all?” Jing Xu asked. 

“I think I just need to spend some time straightening my grades out at school,” Jisung concluded. “It’s really nothing to feel bad about! I have to handle it myself. Time management and all.” “Right,” Jing Xu said, looking down at the ground of the courtyard beneath them. “Well, whenever I’m stressed out I just sing.” “You sing?” Jisung asked. He was surprised, considering he had never gotten any vocal lessons or anything related to singing. _It's just your subconscious, Jisung._

“Yeah!” Jing Xu cheered. “Do you want me to teach you how? It’s really nice to help calm yourself down.” “Can’t you just sing a song for me?” Jisung asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. 

“Uhm… sure… I-I guess….” The other boy said. Jisung was sure that if he had any color to his skin, that he would be blushing.

“Okay,” Jisung said, laying back on the ground with his eyes closed. “Sing for me.”

Jing Xu took a deep breath before tilting his head upwards, looking towards the sky with his eyes closed.

“ _Cause you’re just a thought, an idea. Just a vision of who should be here._ ” Jing Xu sang.

Jisung was amazed at how good he sounded. Of course, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but when Jing Xu sang, Jisung could feel all of his woes wash away.

“ _And to change that, I'm living alone. I would give you this world, if I could find who you are_.” 

Jisung could feel tears well up in his eyes, and he took a deep breath before opening his mouth to speak.

“It’s beautif-”

Suddenly, Jisung’s eyes were thrown open, and he was greeted with the sight of the sun fluttering into his bedroom from his window.

“Fuck.” Jisung huffed. “I guess… I guess I’ll tell him how nice it was… tomorrow…”

_Thursday, April 23rd - 11:00 pm_

Chenle was sitting on the couch with the kitten, watching whatever kdrama was on that night, trying to relax as much as he could before finals began.

“Hey lele,” Jaemin called as he entered the room. “Can you help me spray my hair real quick? I have to go to an interview for the night shift at the library, and I highly doubt they’ll hire a kid with pink hair.”

“Why do you keep spraying it?” Chenle asked as he rose from the couch, walking over to where Jaemin was standing. “Just dye it back to black if you hate the pink so much.”

“But I don’t hate the pink,” Jaemin said, pouting. “I just don’t want people to judge me because of my hair color. I’ll just pretend like I dyed it pink in a few weeks. For now, we’re just gonna have to spray it.”

Chenle nodded as he followed Jaemin into the bathroom.

“You know Donghyuck texted me yesterday after class because he felt bad he didn’t recognize you,” Chenle said, laughing. “He gave me the weirdest look in class, like I should have told him you changed your hair or something. Poor guy.”

“Yeah, I’m so annoyed I didn’t have my hair sprayed when i first met him,” Jaemin grimaced. “Well, what can I do now? Nothing.”

“Right,” Chenle agreed. “You’re all done. Don’t forget to wear a cap to sleep tomorrow so I don’t have to wake up and do this all over again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jaemin said, laughing. “Thanks lele. Are your hands okay, by the way?”

“Yeah, they’re better,” Chenle answered, looking down at his bruised palms. “I guess I was slapping the wall in my sleep or something… who knows?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Jaemin replied, walking out of the bathroom. “Alright, I’m gonna go. I’ll see you in the morning!” “Bye Jaem!” Chenle called. “Stay safe!”

_Friday, April 24th - 1:15 am_

Jisung tossed and turned all night, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

 _I even painted him with a few facial features today._ He thought, running his hands through his hair. _Come on brain, let’s go to sleep now!_

_Friday, April 24th - 1:30 am_

Chenle was sitting at his computer, playing video games until the late hours of the night. Normally, he would head to bed pretty early, but a friend he had in China was online tonight, and he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to beat him in whatever game he would verse him in.

“Renjun,” Chenle called through the mic, in Chinese. “I’m gonna kill you! Where are you?” “As if I would tell you that!” Renjun replied. “Wait- lele, what time is it? Don’t you have to take your medicine?”

“Yeah,” Chenle answered. “But if I take it now I’ll want to go to sleep, and I still want to keep playing for a bi-”

“Zhong Chenle!” Renjun shouted. “Go take your medicine now! I’m logging out now. Take your medicine and go to sleep!” Before Chenle could reply, Renjun was gone.

He huffed, throwing his head back in annoyance. 

“I guess I should go to bed then,” He said, staring at the clock. “It’s half past two already? Ugh.”

He rose from his chair, walking into his bathroom and opening the medicine cabinet. He took out an orange bottle and opened it, removing two small pink pills from inside.

After brushing his teeth, Chenle climbed into bed, and was asleep within minutes.

_Friday, April 24th - ?:?? am_

Jisung sat up fast, suddenly jumping into his dream.

_Finally._

“Hello!” A voice called to him from the steps. It was Jing Xu. “What took you so long to get here?”

“Sorry,” Jisung said, walking over to him. “Were you waiting long?”

“Oh, no,” Jing Xu replied. “I just missed you, I guess.”

“I m-missed you too,” Jisung said, his face beet red. “I wanted to tell you something, by the way.”

“Sure,” Jing Xu said, smiling. “What’s up?” “Yesterday… I never got to compliment you on your singing,” Jisung explained. He was staring at his shoes intensely. “I really, really, really loved it. So much. Thank you for singing for me.”

“Oh,” Jing Xu said. “Thank you. I really appreciate that…” Jisung could tell he was blushing.

“Uhm,” Jisung cleared his throat, trying to clear the air of the awkwardness it had gained. “What do you want to do today?”

“Hmm,” Jing Xu pondered. “How about we try wrestling?”

“Wrestling?” Jisung asked. “I guess that’s fine… sure. But why?”

“I don’t know… I guess I just want to try it?”

“Okay,” Jisung said.

The pair moved down the stairs and to a small patch of grass that Jisung was sure to paint in so that they would have somewhere comfortable to sit.

They kneeled across from each other, and Jing Xu was the first one to make a move. He pushed Jisung down into the ground, landing on top of him harshly.

“Got you!” He called. He was sitting on top of Jisung’s torso, leaning over him with a bright smile on his face. 

Jisung was catching his breath, staring up at him. He narrowed his eyes at him, before wrapping his leg under the other’s, flipping them over so he was on top. 

“Got you.” He said, leaning down so his hair was hanging into Jing Xu’s face. 

The two boys huffed in exasperation, excitement, and a little bit of nervousness.

Before he could realize what he was doing, Jisung was leaning down and slowly planting his lips on the other boy’s, connecting them in a simple kiss

And then- he was awake.

Jisung’s eyes opened wide once he realized that he was no longer sleeping.

“What the fuck…” He said, his mouth dry. He immediately threw his hand up to his mouth, feeling his lips. “That wasn’t… I didn’t… wait. I- I kissed him. I kissed Jing Xu.” He flew upwards, stumbling out of his bed and onto the floor. “I k-kissed… another… boy? I kissed Jing Xu but… he’s not Jing Xu. He’s… a student here. Someone I don’t even know. Fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh shit. This is bad. This is so bad.”

Jisung ran into his bathroom, splashing water on his face.

He couldn’t believe what he had just done. 

Yes, it is true that he was dreaming. Yes, it is true that Jing Xu isn’t real. Yes, it is true that Jisung imagined it all. 

But it felt real. 

He sighed, walking back into his room and staring at the clock on his desk. 

_4:38 am_

He couldn’t go back to sleep. Not now. Not after that. 

So he just threw on a hoodie, and headed out the door- to the art studio. 

On his way over, Jisung’s mind was racing. 

_Did I really do that?_ Jisung wondered. _Did I really kiss him? Did I really kiss another person… in my dream?_

None of it made any sense to Jisung. Up until now, he had just been drawing sketches of the boy. The paintings were just his way of trying to help with his lack of inspiration, they weren’t meant to harm anyone. 

But now, Jisung felt hurt. He was sad. He was angry. He didn’t know why he did what he did- but his heart was aching. 

As he walked the short distance to the art building, he watched the ground as it moved underneath his feet. how simply it existed, without any emotions or faults. It was just a thing. Jisung wished he was the same. 

Before he could realize what was going on, Jisung was bumping into someone, and then crashing hard onto the ground. 

His back hit the concrete, and when he opened his eyes, another face was directly above his. It was a boy with a black hood over his head. 

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” a male voice exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Jisung replied, sitting up and away from the person. “It’s oka-“ Once he got a good look at the boy though, Jisung froze. 

It was the boy from the math social last month. The drunk kid who threw his drink on him. The kid Jisung has punched in the face.

“You-“

“Oh my gosh I’m really so sorry!” The boy said, scrambling around on the pavement. “Fuck I- I wasn’t watching where I was going and I-“

“Aren’t you the kid who threw his drink on me?” Jisung asked incredulously. 

The boy froze. 

“I-“

“Yeah, it is you, right?” Jisung questioned, his eyes narrowing. “Look, no need to apologize, I’m just gonna go.”

And before the boy could say anything else, Jisung was off, striding into the night, leaving him defeated on the ground. 

“My name is Chenle,” Chenle muttered, tears coming to his eyes. “And you gave me a black eye, so…” He trailed off, fully aware that Jisung couldn’t hear him. 

_Saturday, April 25th_

Jisung spent the rest of the weekend holed up in his bedroom, trying to get his mind off of the dream he had had on Friday.

He buried himself in his schoolwork, trying to study for his finals, as well as catch up with whatever work he was behind on.

He didn’t bother painting any new scenes from the window- he was too ashamed to visit Jing Xu now.

_Sunday, April 26th_

Jisung was sprawled out on the floor of his bedroom, putting together a model house for his architecture homework.

He heard a knock on his door, and of course, it was Jeno.

“Hey,” Jeno called, walking across the room to sit on Jisung’s bed. “What’s up with you? Everything alright?” “Yeah…” Jisung said, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “Why?”

“Well, normally you wake up hella early to go to the studio, and then come back late into the night when you’re all wrapped up over there. You haven’t left your room all weekend, so I just wanted to know what was up. You good?” Jeno asked.

“I just had a weird dream,” Jisung explained, sitting back on his hands. “And… something else happened…”

“You can tell me,” Jeno tried. “You know I won’t judge you. You know that.”

“Okay,” Jisung said, taking a deep breath. “In my dream… Jing Xu… he, uh, he suggested we wrestle, like for fun. So, I thought ‘okay why not? I used to wrestle with my friends all the time as a kid! Why not?’ And we went down to the grass and wrestled for a bit. But it was… weird. I like… pinned him down. As one does in wrestling. And then… uh. I kissed him.”

“You…” Jeno started. “You… kissed the boy from the roof…?”

“No!” Jisung insisted. “I kissed Jing Xu, the version of the boy from the roof that lives in my head.” “Okay, so? Why is that a big deal?” Jeno asked. “He isn't even real. It’s not like you kissed the real kid, so what does it matter?”

“I just feel gross,” Jisung explained. “It’s the principle of it. Like, I kissed someone without their consent, in a dream, where I purposefully created that person in order to spend time with them. Doesn’t that sound messed up to you?”

“No.” Jeno said simply. “You’re overreacting. Honestly.” “You think?” Jisung asked.

“Yes. I mean, I have weird dreams all the time! Everyone does. It’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”

“Fine…” Jisung said, trailing off.

“What was the other thing?” Jeno asked.

“Oh,” Jisung’s face hardened at the thought. “You remember the kid who threw his drink on me?” “Yeah…” Jeno said, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Well I bumped into him the other night.” “Really?” Jeno asked. “Where?”

“After the dream I needed to take a walk, to get away,” Jisung started. “So I decided to head to the studio to try and clear my head. Anyway, I guess neither of us was watching where we were going, and we bumped into each other. I didn’t even realize what was going on, until this hooded figure sat over me, asking if I was okay.” “Really?” Jeno asked, his eyebrows raised. “What else happened?” “I was upset, I guess, so I kinda told him off and then left,” Jisung said, his face red. “I feel kinda bad about it, you know?” 

“Yeah, I get what you mean.” “But that wasn’t the weird part,” Jisung said.

“...okay, what else happened?”

“He was so, like, sorry?” Jisung explained. “He kept apologizing over and over, like, he was actually really sweet about bumping into me. So it makes me wonder, like, have I just been uselessly mad at someone who is actually a really good kid?”

“I get what you mean,” Jeno said, nodding. “I mean, he was drunk, Ji. We’ve all made poor decisions when intoxicated. I’m sure he’s a good kid. Maybe try talking to him again? You did punch him in the face, so, he kinda deserves an apology for that.” “Shit,” Jisung said, shaking his head. “You’re right. Fuck. I’ll have to try to find him again, then. Thanks, Jen.” “No problem,” Jeno said, smiling. “I’m gonna go study at the library for the rest of the night, then.” “Alright,” Jisung replied, watching Jeno as he walked out of his room. “Be safe!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> 
> follow me on twt to find my other writings and send any questions or kind words to my curiouscat! both: @zhongwritings


	7. Chapter 7

_Friday, April 24th - 4:38 am_

Chenle rose from his bed in a puddle of sweat. 

He shook his head as his feet hit the cool carpet, trying to blink away the sleep as he wandered around his bedroom.

 _What time is it?_ Chenle wondered.

He approached the clock on his desk, squinting to see the green number.

_4:38 am_

Chenle pressed his back against his bathroom door and looked up at his ceiling.

_What did I dream about that made me wake up like this? Ugh. My back hurts. Fuck._

He sighed, slipping on a hoodie and stepping into the hallway.

_I need some fresh air... Did I have a nightmare or something? What the hell..._

Chenle walked warily throughout campus, trying to remember just what had happened in his dream to jarred him awake as he did.

 _Did I have a nightmare?_ Chenle wondered. _Or maybe… maybe it was about Shanghai? Do I miss home that bad? Well, I did talk to Renjun so maybe that made me miss how things used to be, and I dreamt about it? God… who knows..._

He closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the sky, walking aimlessly around the campus, trying to make sense of his dream.

And the next thing he knew, he was on the ground.

“What just- oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” Chenle exclaimed. He realized that he had bumped into another person, knocking them on the ground. “Are you alright?” He leaned over the person’s face, trying to see if they were okay.

 _Why do I… recognize this person?_ Chenle wondered.

“Yeah,” The person replied, sitting up and away from Chenle. “It’s oka-“ Once he looked at Chenle, though, he froze.

Chenle stared at him in silence, trying to figure out who he was.

 _I know who he is… who is he…?_ Chenle wondered.

“You-“

_Chenle. You just knocked this guy on the ground. Who cares who he is? Apologize!_

“Oh my gosh I’m really so sorry!” Chenle said, scrambling around on the pavement. “Fuck I- I wasn’t watching where I was going and I-“

“Aren’t you the kid who threw his drink on me?” The other boy asked incredulously. 

Chenle halted, his eyes widening in realization.

_Oh._

“I-” Chenle tried.

“Yeah, it is you, right?” The stranger questioned, his eyes narrowing. “Look, no need to apologize, I’m just gonna go.”

And before Chenle could say anything else, the other boy was off, striding into the night, leaving Chenle defeated on the ground. 

“My name is Chenle,” He muttered, tears coming to his eyes. “And you gave me a black eye, so…” He trailed off, fully aware that the other boy couldn’t hear him. 

_Fuck. Whatever._

_Monday, April 27th - 8:00 am_

Jisung trudged into his 8 am architecture class, silently joining Hyuck at his seat.

“Morning,” Hyuck greeted. “Bad night?” “Bad life,” Jisung muttered. He placed his head down onto the cool surface of the desk and stared out into the distance, watching the trees sway in the breeze.

 _I wish I could be a tree._ Jisung thought. _They do a great job at existing and they get to be reborn once a year. I’d like to try that..._

“You’ll be fine,” Donghyuck tried, placing his hand on Jisung’s shoulder. “It’s a bad day, not a bad li-”

“Excuse me,” came a voice, interrupting Donghyuck.

Jisung lifted his head quickly, all too familiar with the voice that was speaking with him. It was Dr. Choi.

“Good morning Dr. Choi!” Jisung greeted, a bright smile now plastered on his face.

“Good morning, Mr. Park,” Dr. Choir greeted. “May I speak with you for a moment? In the hall?” He asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

“S-sure,” Jisung replied, standing up and following Dr. Choi out of the lecture hall.

Once the pair was standing in the hallway alone, Dr. Choi spoke up.

“You have consistently had the highest grade in your class since the beginning of the semester,” Dr. Choi explained. “But in the last few weeks, your grade has slipped a few points. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for that, and I am not going to pry, but I would like to present you with an assignment that could give you extra credit points. How does that sound?” “I would be so extremely grateful,” Jisung replied, nodding his head in amazement.

_It’s not a bad day at all._

“Since we have the level one architecture students in our class now, I have been thinking of ways to raise their grades as well, and so I have decided on an assignment that will give all of the students an opportunity to succeed. That is where you come into play.” Dr. Choi explained. “You see, our level two architecture class has an odd number of students, and I wanted to divide the conjoined classes into groups of four to work on a group project as the final, instead of issuing two different exams or projects. I have already decided on the groups through a random lottery system, and you will be paired with three students from the level one course, in exchange for 50 extra credit points to your final grade. Does that sound okay?” “Y-yes,” Jisung answered, a smile creeping onto his face.

“Great,” Dr. Choi said, smiling, “I will explain the details of the assignment in class today. Thank you, Mr. Park.”

“No, thank you, Dr. Choi!” Jisung said, bowing as Dr. Choi entered the lecture hall once more.

Jisung couldn’t help but smile to himself.

 _Finally._ He thought. _Things are looking up._

~

Dr. Choi announced to the class the plan he had for the final project and announced the groups.

“Lastly,” Dr. Choi said. “We have group 11. This group will consist of Park Jisung, from level two architecture, and Lee Donghyuck, Na Jaemin, and Zhong Chenle from level one architecture. The presentations will be on the last Monday and Wednesday of the semester. Make sure you’re spending time working on this outside of class. I don’t want to see you trying to scramble an entire final project in the few hours you’ll have to work on this in class. You have to meet with your groups to get this done, okay?” Once the class agreed, Jisung and Donghyuck stood up, looking around the room for the other half of their group.

“There’s Jaemin,” Donghyuck said, pointing to the boy Jisung had met earlier in the week. 

The pair walked over to where Jaemin was standing.

“Lele ran to the bathroom,” Jaemin announced. “He’ll be back in a bit.” “Okay, let’s decide positions when he gets back,” Jisung said.

“Sure,” Jaemin replied. “You’re Jisung, right?” “Oh, yeah,” Jisung said, reaching out and shaking hands with Jaemin. “And you’re Jaemin?”

“The one and only,” Jaemin said, smiling.

Suddenly, another person walked up to the trio.

“Sorry-”

Jisung looked up at the boy, and his expression immediately hardened. It was the boy who threw his drink on him at the math social. The boy he had bumped into the other night. The boy he wasn’t sure if he hated or not. Jisung sighed.

“Oh- Hi.” Chenle said, looking down at the floor.

Donghyuck looked between Chenle and Jisung, feeling the newfound tension that had entered the space.

“Do you guys know each other?” Donghyuck asked. 

“We met at the math social a few months back,” Jisung said, a small smile coming to his face. “It was a brief meeting though. I’m Jisung, in case you don’t remember.” Jisung said, standing from his seat and extending a hand out to Chenle.

“Chenle,” Chenle said. He felt small over Jisung’s towering build.

Once everyone was settled in their seats, they decided on who would take what position, and what days they were available to meet up.

“I don’t have classes on Fridays,” Jisung said. “So we can do Friday, and whatever time you’re all good for after class throughout the rest of the week.”

“Friday is good,” Jaemin said, writing out his schedule in his notebook. “I have work during the night on weekends so I can’t see that being a problem.” “I don’t think we’re going to have to spend a ton of time together to get this done,” Jisung said, leaning back in his chair. “If we all do what we have to do, it’ll be fine-” When Jisung’s eyes rose from where they were fixated on the table, he realized that there was a problem. 

Jaemin and Donghyuck were looking at him with pleading eyes. Chenle didn’t bother looking up from his notebook.

“...what?” Jisung asked. “What’s wrong…?”

And as if a switch was flipped, Donghyuck and Jaemin were vomiting excuses.

“I don’t know anything about vernacular settlement.”

“How am I supposed to research parametric modeling?”

“What are the best types of preservation for this type of wood?”

Jisung had heard enough, and he quickly realized that this is exactly why he was getting the extra credit points that Dr. Choi offered to him.

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Jisung said, sighing. “I’ll help you guys. Fine. We’ll get together on Friday then, okay?”

“Thanks Jisung!” Jaemin said, a bright smile on his face. “See you Friday!”

The class quickly emptied as Jisung packed up his backpack.

_Maybe things aren’t looking up after all._

_Monday, April 27th - 9:00 pm_

“Why were you so quiet in class today?” Jaemin asked Chenle. The two boys were sitting and watching a variety show, their kitten sprawled out between them.

“What do you mean?” Chenle asked.

“You know what I mean,” Jaemin said, smiling. “Did you and Jisung like, hook up or something? Why was it so awkward?”

“He’s the guy I fought with at the math social,” Chenle explained. “The one I thought was Hyunjin.” He leaned his head on the back of the couch in exasperation.

“Wait- Jisung? Jisung is the guy who punched you?” Jaemin asked, trying to stifle a laugh. “That is so funny- oh my goodness. Lele!”

“He hates me,” Chenle muttered, turning himself so he was nearly inside of the couch cushions. “I just know it.”

“He doesn’t hate you!” Jaemin tried. “You saw how nice he was in class! I’m sure he understands how people can get when they’re drunk! Don’t worry about it!”

Chenle looked over to Jaemin with an unimpressed look on his face.

He remembered the other night when he ran into Jisung, the look he gave him. 

“He definitely hates me,” Chenle said, sighing. “Anyway.” He reached down to pet the black cat beside him. “You know we’ve had this cat for almost two months and we haven’t named him yet. That’s so fucked, Jaem. We have to name him.” “I still don’t have any ideas, though,” Jaemin said, leaning his face down to kiss the cat. “He responds to normal calls, so I don’t see why he has to have a name.”

“He has to have a name because cats have a lifespan of twenty years, and I am not going to leave him nameless for twenty years. Get to thinking,” Chenle said, pulling up the notes app on his phone.

“What are some good cat names?” Jaemin asked. “Maybe Fluffy? Or Oreo? Or Mr. Whiskers? Maybe… something in Chinese?” He suggested, trying to bring Chenle’s mood up. “Hmm,” Chenle said, thinking. “I like the name Bao.”

“Really?” Jaemin said, a confused expression on his face. “What does that mean? Does it even have a meaning… or… ”

“It means ‘treasure’ in Chinese,” Chenle explained. “And since I found him randomly… I guess that would be good, right? A lot of people in Shanghai name their cat that since they think it will bring them good luck.”

“Oh! I like that!” Jaemin replied.

“Are you sure?” Chenle asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, yes,” Jaemin said, nodding. “I like that. Bao it is, then?”

“Sounds good to me,” Chenle agreed. 

_Tuesday, April 28th - 4:30 pm_

It had been almost an entire day since Jisung had last visited Jing Xu in his dreams. 

He was sitting in his studio room, staring at a blank canvas, his oil paints all sprawled out around him, the painting’s due date looming over his head.

 _I need to get this done._ Jisung thought. _I have to paint this, and visit him tonight to apologize. That’s it._

Jisung painted the roof scene just as it was in front of him, as simple as possible- just a view from the window.

It was the black silhouette of a boy in the center of the canvas that drew all attention to it, that held all of the emotion.

The everyday scene that was the view from Jisung’s window, in contrast to the thick black silhouette, contained everything Jisung needed to say.

He sighed as he looked down to the boy that was asleep outside his window.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you don’t know me, but… I’m sorry.”

Jisung honestly felt horrible about the whole ordeal. It wasn’t fair to the stranger who slept on the roof. Jisung had created an entire narrative, character, and storyline, based solely on this human’s existence, and they didn’t even know Jisung was sitting in his studio every day, painting away with the thought of them on his mind.

It made his stomach turn.

_Tuesday, April 28th - 10:30 pm_

That night, Jisung fell asleep a little too quickly, and his entrance to the painting was almost abrupt.

He blinked his eyes open, staring at the scene he had painted just that afternoon.

“Jing Xu?” Jisung called. He couldn’t see the boy from where he was sitting on the roof. “Jing Xu!”

“I’m coming!” Jing Xu shouted, and there he was, bounding up the stairs at a child’s pace, his dark body finally coming into Jisung’s view. “Jisu-”

_Crash._

Jisung flew up from where he was sitting and ran over to Jing Xu, who had tripped on the final step and fallen hard- on his face.

“Are you okay?” Jisung asked. All nerves were out the window once he realized that Jing Xu was hurt.

“I’m fine,” Jing Xu tried. He was holding his wrist, which was bleeding. Jisung was surprised to find that the blood was red. 

“You’re bleeding!” Jisung said, grabbing Jing Xu’s arm. “Here-” he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around Jing Xu’s wrist. “You need to be more careful next time.”

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, before Jisung finally spoke up.

“I want to apologize for yesterday,” he began. “It wasn’t right of me to… do that… to you.”

“Kiss me?” Jing Xu asked shamelessly. 

“Y-yeah…” Jisung replied, his face beet red. “That…”

“I didn’t mind,” Jing Xu said simply. “I actually liked it a lot.”

“What?” Jisung asked. “Really? You… liked it?” “Yeah,” Jing Xu answered, turning to face Jisung. “Can we do it again?”

Jisung’s eyes shot up, and he could tell Jing Xu was being dead serious.

Jisung had painted Jing Xu to have some facial features a few paintings ago, nothing too defining, but he did have lips, a nose, and eyes. 

He didn't have a face, though. Jisung was sure to paint him without a ‘face’ because he didn’t know what he looked like -or who he was- so he felt bad about making him someone he wasn’t.

“You want to kiss?” Jisung asked, finally coming out of his own thoughts. 

“Yeah, I mean, why not?” Jing Xu asked. “It doesn’t hurt, right?”

“Right…” Jisung said. “But-” 

Before Jisung could finish what he was saying, another pair of lips were on his. 

Jing Xu was kissing Jisung.

And Jisung was kissing Jing Xu.

_Wednesday, April 29th - 10:45 am_

Chenle walked out of his calculus class in a hurry. 

His wrist was hurting from the night before. He figured he must have hurt it in his sleep.

He was tired, and after taking his medicine, he just wanted to go up to the roof and take a nap, like he did every day.

“Hey!” A voice yelled out to him. He grumbled before stopping and turning around and finding Hyunjin standing a few feet behind him, a smirk on his lips.

Hyunjin approached Chenle quietly, before stopping right in front of him, his face just a few inches away from Chenle’s.

“Did you cheat on the last exam?” Hyunjin asked, his eyes narrowing in on Chenle’s face. “Because you got three points more than me, and I was sure I learned all of the material.” 

“I didn’t cheat, Hyunjin,” Chenle answered. He was glaring up at the older boy, sending daggers with his eyes. 

“Are you sure?” Hyunjin asked.

“Yes. Now, I need to go-” 

“You’re not going anywhere,” Hyunjin said, grabbing Chenle’s wrist in a tight grip, his fingers digging into the cut that lay under his sleeve.

“Ow!” Chenle shouted, tearing his arm away from Hyunjin. “Can you just leave me alone? It isn’t my fault that you fucked up one of the questions! God, just go away, please!” 

Chenle stormed away from Hyunjin and up the stairs of the math building, heading to the roof to take a nap and escape the woes of his personal life.

_Wednesday, April 29th - 10:45 am_

Jisung had just finished washing his hands when he heard someone shout to someone else in the middle of the math building. 

He looked down the hallway curiously when he saw a familiar face- Chenle.

He sighed, looking over to the other boy who approached him, he was a taller boy with black hair- just like Jisung. 

He heard a few bits and pieces from their conversation but wasn’t really attracted to the exchange until he heard Chenle shout in pain.

“Ow! Can you just leave me alone? It isn’t my fault that you fucked up one of the questions! God, just go away, please!” 

Jisung was about to step in when he saw Chenle rip himself from Hyunjin’s tight grasp on his wrist, and bound up a flight of stairs.

 _What the fuck was that?_ Jisung wondered. _Is he getting bullied or something? It looked like that guy hurt his wrist pretty badly. Fuck, Jisung. You need to be nice to him. He made one mistake. Clearly, the kid is going through something._

Jisung just shook his head and headed to the library, where he was meeting Jeno.

_Wednesday, April 29th - 10:55 am_

After successfully escaping Hyunjin, Chenle sat himself down on the rooftop, eventually turning towards the art building that stood behind him.

“I wonder what it’s like painting all day?” Chenle asked himself. He watched the students through their windows, some sketching, some painting, others taking naps. Chenle laughed. “I guess we all have things that stress us out then, huh?”

He sighed, before sprawling out in the sunlight and knocking out, the same as he did every day.


	8. Chapter 8

_Friday, May 1st - 8:00 pm_

Jisung walked into the classroom his group had arranged to meet the next morning with a bright red face.

He tried to calm himself down, not thinking much about anything else.

“Good morning,” Jaemin greeted. 

“Morning,” Jisung said.

Chenle and Donghyuck just nodded.

Jaemin looked over to Chenle and sighed.

“Alright, let’s get started. Jisung, where should we begin?” Jaemin asked.

After a few minutes of deciding what to work on, the group was immersed in their own individual assignments. 

Occasionally, Jaemin or Donghyuck would ask Jisung for help on something, but other than that, they were pretty much working in silence.

“Hyuck,” Jaemin said after some time. “Do you think you could run to the printing room with me real quick to print out some of these stencils?” 

Donghyuck gave him a curious look before nodding, and the pair left, leaving Jisung and Chenle to sit in silence.

Jisung sighed to himself before glancing up at Chenle.

 _His hair is so white… I wonder how long it took him to get it that color?_ Jisung wondered. He looked down at the other boy’s hands. He was typing away at the computer, staring intensely at the screen before him, almost as if he was avoiding Jisung's gaze.

_His wrist is bandaged… I wonder what happened…_

Before Jisung could stop himself, he was reaching out and grabbing Chenle’s arm and pulling it towards himself. 

“Wh-”

“What happened to your wrist?” Jisung asked, examining the dirty white bandage that was wrapped haphazardly around Chenle’s arm.

“N-nothing,” Chenle said, his eyebrows furrowed and his cheeks bright red.

“This doesn’t look like nothing,” Jisung said. He rose from his seat, grabbing a small black bag from his backpack. “Come with me” Chenle, for whatever reason, did as he was told and followed Jisung out of the classroom and into one of the bathrooms. 

Jisung carefully unwrapped the bandage that was on Chenle’s arm and started to pour cool water on the scrape that was underneath the bandage.

Chenle watched as the taller boy worked in silence.

 _Why is he doing this?_ Chenle wondered. _Doesn’t he hate me?_

“So what happened?” Jisung asked once more, as he wrapped a new bandage around Chenle’s wrist. 

“I-I must have hit it into the wall while I was asleep or something,” Chenle explained. “I really don’t know how it got cut up like this…”

Jisung warily watched Chenle as he spoke; fully aware of what he saw the other day in the hallway.

 _Why is he lying to me…_ Jisung thought. _He doesn’t hate me that much, does he? Fuck, Jisung you fucked up._

“Well, whatever,” Jisung said simply. “It’s taken care of now. Be careful, though. Okay?”

“Okay…” Chenle muttered.

“Let’s get back to work,” Jisung suggested, zipping up the small black bag he had brought with him. “We’ll be able to finish it really easily if we all work together like this. You’re not having any trouble, right?” 

“No,” Chenle answered, shaking his head. He followed Jisung out of the bathroom and back into the classroom. “It’s really not that difficult. Since I’m a math major, I’m not having any trouble with the equations or anything.” “That’s good to hear,” Jisung replied.

He smiled down at Chenle as they entered the classroom.

And, for whatever reason, Chenle could feel his heartbeat just the slightest bit faster once Jisung smiled at him.

When Donghyuck and Jaemin finally returned, the tension in the air was gone, and Jaemin smiled to himself, knowing full well that whatever happened while he was gone, was his doing.

_Friday, May 1st - 9:30 pm_

After their work was done for the day, Chenle and Jaemin headed back to their apartment together.

“So,” Jaemin said as he stood in the kitchen, cooking dinner for him and Chenle. “What happened today? You know, after Hyuck and I left you and Jisung alone?”

“Nothing really,” Chenle replied. 

“Oh yeah?” Jaemin questioned. “Why did you have a new bandage on your wrist when we came back, then?”

Chenle’s head shot up, and he looked at Jaemin with a bright flush on his cheeks.

“Oh…” Chenle started. “Well, he saw that I got hurt, so… he like, re-wrapped it for me?”

“Really?” Jaemin asked. “That’s sweet.” He raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly as he spoke, making it his goal to deepen Chenle’s blush.

“I guess…” Chenle said, trailing off. 

“Do you think he’s cute?” Jaemin asked abruptly.

“What?” Chenle said, his mouth opening wide at Jaemin’s question.

“I just want to know if you think he’s cute, goodness,” Jaemin replied.

“I don’t know what I think of him,” Chenle grumbled, sinking further into his chair.

“Alright,” Jaemin said, giving in. “I won’t ask any more questions. Let’s eat, and then I’ll head to work.”

_Friday, May 1st - 10:30 pm_

Jaemin walked into the library happily, ready to start his night of work.

He found that working at night was a major stress-reliever, and even though he spent his time during the day doing school work, coming to the library didn’t really seem like a job to him.

All he had to do was put books away and help the patrons find what they were looking for.

Most nights the library was pretty empty, but now that finals were coming up, nearly every seat in the academic section was filled.

Jaemin headed to the basement to work, opting to avoid the main floor since he didn’t want to get caught up in conversation with any of his classmates.

People rarely studied in the basement, since it was mostly fiction and strange book topics, anything a student would need to help with their studies would be on the upper floors.

Jaemin walked down the stairs and greeted the librarian, walking to the back to punch in and grab a cart full of books to put back.

He floated around the floor, placing book after book in their respective spots.

It wasn’t until he spotted a familiar face sitting all alone in the center of the floor, did Jaemin stop.

 _Is that…? The guy from Mark’s party?_ Jaemin wondered. He suddenly felt his face heat up, as he ducked behind one of the shelves, hiding away from the other boy. _Why am I hiding? It isn’t like we did anything… I can just act normal._

Jaemin then recalled how he left the boy completely alone without explanation, and sighed.

_Fuck. I left him without saying a word. He probably hates me or thinks I’m a complete weirdo… It’s best to just avoid him. I’ll just go on my way, and he won’t even notice me. Besides, I had pink hair when we met. It’ll be fine._

Jaemin tried to be as quiet as possible as he put the books away, not wanting to gain any unwanted attention.

Everything was going well until-

“Excuse me?” A voice whispered. Jaemin shuddered.

“Y-yes,” Jaemin muttered, trying to hide his face behind a stack of books. 

“Uhm- I-” The other boy tried, moving around Jaemin, who was turning every which way to avoid the boy’s eyes. Until he bumped his arm into one of the shelves, and _crash-_ there the books went.

“Oh! Fuck,” Jaemin whispered, immediately dropping to the ground to try and gather the books.

“Are you alright?” The other boy asked, giggling. He looked up at Jaemin with his smiling eyes, and Jaemin could feel his world stop. “Oh- do I… know you?” The boy asked, his head tilting sideways in confusion.

“Nope!” Jaemin said, a bit too quickly. He shook his head vigorously as if he could shake himself into another person.

The other boy’s eyebrow quirked at that. “I’m Jeno,” _Jeno._ “I thought we’d met before.”

“Ah, no,” Jaemin said once more. Jeno stacked a few of the fallen books together as he examined Jaemin. “I just transferred here, so, I don’t really know anyone.” Jaemin half-lied. He _did_ transfer here, just not too recently. And he did know people. Quite a few, actually.

“Oh, really?” Jeno asked. “Sorry, you uh, look like someone I’ve met, is all.”

“That’s okay,” Jaemin said guiltily. “Thanks for the help,” he took the books out of Jeno’s hands, quickly placing them on the cart and rushing away without another word.

_Friday, May 1st - 10:50 pm_

Jeno shook his head as he exited the library.

 _Wasn’t that Nana though?_ He thought. _He looked exactly like him. Maybe… Hm. Did they just look alike? Nana has pink hair, not black… But he sounded just like him… Hm. I wonder what’s going on..._

As Jeno walked back to his shared apartment with Jisung, he tried to clear his head of all thoughts of Nana, to no avail.

He landed on his bed in a huff, staring up at the ceiling with wonder in his eyes.

“He wouldn’t lie… would he?” Jeno asked himself. “What reason would he have to lie though? It’s not like I was bothering him at the party. It seemed like he wanted to talk to me, too. Hmm. Something is definitely off… I guess I’m gonna have to do some research then, just because I’m so curious.”

_Saturday, May 2nd - 9:00 am_

Jisung woke up with a smile on his face.

After another successful _hang out_ with Jing Xu in his dreams, he was impossibly happy.

Something Jisung had realized was that even though things in his real-life were stressful, when he went to sleep he was able to escape to a world where everything was seemingly perfect.

Jisung walked out into the kitchen and started making breakfast for him and Jeno, humming along to whatever song was playing in his head.

Jeno joined him shortly after, and he entered the kitchen with a smile.

“Something good happening today?” Jeno asked. “You seem like you’re in a good mood.”

“I mean, I don’t think there’s anything in particular,” Jisung answered. “I don’t have class today, but other than that there isn’t much to be excited about.”

“How are those dreams coming along?” Jeno asked. “Are you still visiting that kid… uh… Jing…?”

“Jing Xu?” Jisung asked, his face lighting up. “Everything is really good! I’m having a lot of fun dreaming now. My sleep schedule is perfect, haha.”

“Aren’t you curious about who he is?” Jeno asked, fully aware of the fact that he was probably asking a dangerous question. 

“I mean, I guess…” Jisung replied, trailing off.

“He could be your soulmate or something,” Jeno said. “You never know…”

“Sure,” Jisung said. “He could be. But, I mean, at this point I feel like I’m in too deep now. What if he’s nothing like Jing Xu and I hate him or something? There’s also the possibility that he isn’t even into guys or whatever… I don’t know, I feel like the real guy is a lost cause.”

“Right, right,” Jeno said, making himself a bowl of cereal. “I still think it’s worth a shot to find out who is, just in case…”

_Friday, May 8th - 8:00 pm_

Jisung was on his way over to a study room to meet with his group mates for their architecture project when he saw Chenle run past him.

He looked over to the smaller boy, who flew up the sidewalk towards the building, his platinum blonde hair bouncing actively through the wind. 

It was as if time had slowed down, the way Jisung watched Chenle’s bright smile bound backward through the courtyard.

“Hey!” Jisung heard a voice call from behind him. He turned around and saw Jaemin jog towards him, sweat dripping down his forehead. “Jisung, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Jisung replied, looking to Chenle who had stopped a few feet in front of him. “Why are you guys running?”

“Chenle said he wanted to race,” Jaemin answered. “And whoever lost has to pay for take-out tonight. Which, I guess is me…”

“Hahaha!” Chenle laughed, his voice carrying over to Jisung and Jaemin loudly.

 _He’s acting so bright…_ Jisung thought, watching as Chenle entered the building. _Is this who he really is?_

“He’s such a brat…” Jaemin mumbled. 

Jisung smiled.

~

While they sat in the empty study room waiting for Donghyuck, Jisung looked outside and watched as the sun started to set.

“Hey,” A voice came, entering the room. “Sorry, I’m late! I was working on my slides and got completely sidetracked. Who knew the stylistic development of marble was so interesting?”

“It’s okay,” Jaemin said, laughing.

The four boys settled into their desks, all of them facing each other.

“I’m actually done,” Chenle said after a few moments of silence. 

“Me too,” Jisung said.

“Same here,” Jaemin said.

“Yup…” Donghyuck replied. 

They sat and stared at each other for a few moments before Chenle began to laugh.

“Wait,” He began. “We all came here to meet without even realizing we were done?”

“I guess…” Jaemin said. “Huh. What do we do now?”

“Why don’t we celebrate?” Chenle suggested. “We might as well! I mean, it is a Friday.”

“Sure,” Jisung agreed. “But I still think we should meet up one more time to do a mock presentation. How about today we all go out to eat together… and then next Friday we’ll do a practice run after everyone has had some time to memorize their part?” “Sounds great,” Donghyuck said, packing his backpack up. “Where do you guys want to go?”

_Friday, May 8th - 9:00 pm_

The four boys found themselves in a bar a few blocks away from the university, and it was packed to the brim with people.

Jaemin found a table for them near the back, and they sat down and ordered a few beers.

“This is nice,” Jaemin said as he sipped on his drink. “I haven’t really been able to go out since I transferred, so it’s cool to get to relax with some friends for once.”

“Why did you transfer?” Jisung asked. 

“Some family stuff,” Jaemin explained. “My parents ended up separating after I left for school, so I decided to move to Seoul to be closer to my mother’s house in case anything happened.” “Oh, so you live with her?” Jisung asked, raising his eyebrows. “It must be hard to commute to campus.”

“No, no,” Jaemin said, laughing. “Chenle and I live together!”

“Oh,” Jisung said, his face turning a light shade of pink.

“Speaking of my mother,” Jaemin said, looking at his watch. “I should probably call her before it gets too late. Excuse me,” he said, standing from his chair.

Jisung watched as Jaemin exited the bar, and finally turned to face Chenle, who had a bright red face and tired eyes.

 _Is he drunk already?_ Jisung wondered. _I guess he’s a lightweight then…_

“Hey,” Jisung said, looking at Chenle. “Are you drunk?”

“No!” Chenle protested, even though his voice was slowed and his eyes were half-closed.

Jisung nearly laughed as he looked to Donghyuck, who was searching around the bar with his eyes.

“What’s up?” Jisung asked him, taking a sip from his beer. “Expecting someone?”

“Mark said he was on his way over here,” Donghyuck replied, his face bright with excitement.

“Are you guys a thing?” Jisung asked, feeling a little bit bolder with the alcohol in his system.

“I don’t know,” Donghyuck answered, sighing. “He likes to flirt with me, and sometimes he holds me a little bit longer than a friend would when we hug, you know? But other than that, I don’t really know how he feels… Oh! There he is. I’ll be right back!”

And before Jisung could protest, Hyuck was gone and it was just him and Chenle at the table.

Jisung looked over to Chenle, who was staring curiously at him.

“What?” Jisung asked, tilting his head at Chenle. “Thinking about what drink to throw on me?” He joked.

“Hey!” Chenle shouted. “That was one time! And, I’m sorry… I never actually apologized for that, did I…?”

“No,” Jisung answered, shaking his head. “But I’ll accept your apology if you answer a question for me.”

“Sure,” Chenle replied, lifting his head to make eye contact with Jisung. “I’m an open book.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Jisung asked.

Chenle’s eyes nearly popped out of his head once he heard Jisung’s question.

 _Why would he want to know that…_ Chenle wondered. He could feel his face heat up, turning an even brighter red than it was previously.

“Why?” Chenle asked.

“I saw you with someone a little while ago…” Jisung began. “And he seemed sort of aggressive? I know it isn’t my business, but I don’t want anyone getting hurt or anything, so.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Chenle said, shaking his head. “Actually, I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“You were with some guy in the math department building a few days ago,” Jisung explained. “And he grabbed your wrist, and then you yelled at him, and that’s when you got hurt, right?”

“Oh…” Chenle said, nodding his head in remembrance. “Yeah, no. That was Hyunjin. He’s someone I’ve known for a while now, and he’s sort of like my enemy, I guess. And he wasn’t the reason my wrist got hurt.”

“Really?” Jisung questioned, still unsure if Chenle was telling the truth or not. “Then how did it get hurt?”

“I told you, it happened in my sleep,” Chenle explained.

“In your sleep?” Jisung asked, almost laughing at the thought. “You must be a rough sleeper, then.”

“I’m usually not,” Chenle said, a smile coming to his face. “But I guess that night I was? Who knows…” He shook his head as he thought about it.

And then finally, Jaemin returned.

“Sorry,” He said, sitting down. “My mom was telling me that my niece said her first words so she stayed on for a while- wait, where’s Hyuck?” “Mark came and swept him away,” Jisung said, laughing.

“You guys wanna finish your drinks and then get out of here?” Chenle suggested. “This doesn’t feel like much of a celebration, now that I think about it.”

“Yeah I should get going soon anyway,” Jaemin said, drinking down the last of his beer. “I have work tonight still. We should have something at our place, though,” he said as the two other boys stood up, the trio making their way out of the bar.

“I’m down,” Jisung said, nodding.

“Great!” Jaemin cheered. 

The three boys made their way back to campus, Jisung and Chenle stopping on the path to the housing area.

“After finals, we’ll have a little get together at mine and Chenle’s place. You can bring your roommate, too,” Jaemin said, smiling.

“For sure,” Jisung replied.

After Jaemin left for the library, Jisung and Chenle felt rain coming down on them, and made a break for their building.

“You live here too?” Chenle asked as Jisung used his keycard to open the door. 

“Yeah,” Jisung answered, wiping the rain from his clothes. “Fifth floor. You?”

“Sixth,” Chenle said, walking to the elevator with the other boy. “I’m glad we became friends…” He said quietly, once the doors to the elevator were shut.

“Me too,” Jisung replied, stepping out into the hallway once they reached his floor. “I’ll see you around then?”

“See you around,” Chenle said, smiling as the doors shut, separating Jisung and him once more.


	9. Chapter 9

_Friday, May 8th - 2:25 am_

Jeno was determined to find out the truth behind Jaemin’s identity. After seeing him in the cafeteria earlier that day, he was sure that he and Nana were the same person.

_They have the same smile._ Jeno thought to himself as he looked down at his watch, noting the time. _He should still be at work. I have to ask him._

After waiting around for the rain to stop, Jeno figured it had been long enough, and bounded down the stairs of his apartment, stopping at the glass door at the entrance of the building, once he realized that it was still raining. He sighed, grabbing an umbrella from a basket meant for patrons.

_I have to go now or he’ll leave. It’s just some water, what harm will it do?_

After walking carefully through the rain, Jeno landed upon the library.

He took a deep breath, and finally entered the building.

Jeno walked up to the front desk of the basement floor of the library, bowing sweetly to the librarian.

“Excuse me,” He spoke. “Do you know the boy who works here? He has black hair, and his name is Jaemin.”

“Nana?” The woman asked. Jeno shuddered. 

_Nana._

“Yes,” He replied. “Him. Is he here tonight?”

“He ran upstairs to grab his paycheck a few minutes ago,” She said, thinking. “So he might still be here, but you’re gonna have to run if you want to catch him.” She winked at Jeno as he bowed before rushing off.

Jeno flew up the stairs, searching aimlessly through the empty offices that sat on the top floor of the library. 

He sighed, not being able to find Jaemin anywhere.

He started back down the steps until he saw someone heading down a hallway in the employee-only area at the back of the building.

_Fuck it._ Jeno thought, running full speed towards the other person. 

“Jaemin!” Jeno shouted.

Jaemin turned around, seeing Jeno. Unsure of what to do, he started running - away.

Jeno chased Jaemin through the employee area of the building, yelling at him to stop the entire time.

To be honest, Jaemin didn’t even know why he was running. He just knew that he was going to be in trouble if Jeno knew he was lying to him.

Or that’s what he was telling himself, at least.

When he landed upon the doors that lead outside, Jaemin saw the rain and huffed.

He had to either outrun Jeno or the rain and at this point, the rain sounded like the better option.

Jaemin stepped out into the rain harshly, not even bothering to put his hood up.

Jeno rushed out after him, growing tired of this seemingly-endless chase.

“Nana!” He shouted after the other, who stopped in his tracks, the rain falling down on him.

Jeno ran up to the other boy, huffing tiredly as he approached him.

And there Jaemin stood- drenched to the bone, his black hair spray bleeding down his face and neck, revealing his pink hair. 

He looked up at Jeno through dark eyes, afraid of what was about to happen next.

Jeno didn’t say anything. 

He opened up his umbrella and put it over Jaemin, covering him from the rain.

Without another moment of silence, Jeno walked off, handing Jaemin the umbrella and leaving him standing there in the rain.

~

When Jeno got home, Jisung was sitting on the couch in the living room watching a movie.

“Hey,” Jisung called, not bothering to turn back and face the older boy. “There’s pizza in the fridge if you’re hungry. Sorry I didn’t see you leave. I was in the shower…” He said, trailing off once he turned and saw Jeno standing in the doorway, soaking wet. “Did you forget your umbrella or something? Jesus…”

Jisung stood, grabbing a towel from the hall closet and approaching Jeno, who stood, unmoving, in the doorway.

“Are you okay?” Jisung asked, looking up at the other. “Did something happen?”

Jeno just nodded.

Jisung didn’t say anything else. He understood that something must seriously be wrong, and simply helped the older into his shower, grabbing clean clothes for him to change into when he was done.

Jisung waited in Jeno’s room for him to get out of the shower.

He stared out the window and watched the rainfall, thinking of everything that happened that day.

_Chenle and I are fine, he lives on the floor above mine, and we’re hanging out after finals next week. Hm._ He thought. _Jeno didn’t say a word and came home completely drenched from the rain, even though he never fails to bring an umbrella with him when it rains. He seems upset too… I wonder what could have possibly happened for him to be so upset._

Before Jisung knew it, Jeno was out of the shower and sitting beside him. 

He smiled at the other boy, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

“Everything alright?” Jisung asked, watching as Jeno sighed and looked down to his hands.

“You know how I told you about that guy from Mark’s party?” Jeno croaked out, his voice hoarse from crying, Jisung assumed. 

“Yeah…”

“Well I thought I saw him a few days ago, so I asked if he was who I thought he was, and he told me no,” Jeno explained. “But you know I can’t let things go, so I decided to be nosey and get in his business and I ended up getting hurt because of it.”

“What exactly happened?” Jisung asked.

“He lied to me,” Jeno said simply. “And I know I didn’t like _know_ him or anything, but at the party, there was this feeling, like… like we were meant to meet each other? It sounds so dumb but he lied to me even though we only spoke once, and I can’t help but wonder what kind of impression I left on him for him to lie to me like that. Am I some sort of weirdo or something and I never realized?” “No, no,” Jisung tried. “I’m sure it’s nothing like that. It has to be something wrong with him. Jen, you’re one of the most charming people I’ve ever met. He has to have his own issues that he’s dealing with. This has nothing to do with you, I’m sure.”

“You think?” Jeno asked.

“I know.”

“So what do I do?”

“Well,” Jisung said, taking some time to think. “Why don’t you talk to him about it? You deserve an explanation, I think. Maybe find him and if he doesn’t want to talk, then fine; leave it at that.”

“Okay,” Jeno agreed, nodding his head. “I’ll talk to him soon, then. Thank you Jisung. God only knows where I would be if it weren’t for you.” Jisung smiled as he stood up from the bed.

“Same here, Jen,” Jisung said as he stood in the doorway. “Goodnight.”

_Friday, May 8th - 3:00 am_

Jaemin sighed as he entered his apartment. He stepped into the front hall and removed his soaked sneakers, slowly peeling off the rest of his outer clothing and slinking his way over to the washing machine.

After taking a hot shower and scrubbing off the black hair spray that had dyed his skin, Jaemin put on a nice warm pair of pajamas and sat out on his balcony, watching the rain sprinkle down from the sky.

It was well past midnight, and Jaemin was exhausted. 

But after everything that had happened with Jeno, he wasn’t able to sleep. How could he sleep after everything that had gone wrong?

Jaemin wasn’t even sure why he felt so beat up over the situation.

It wasn’t as if Jeno was some special person in his life that he had been lying to for months. Jeno was just a guy he met at a party, he was just a stranger, someone Jaemin knew in name only.

_Maybe it’s because he was so nice to me?_ Jaemin wondered. _But for all I know, he could be a serial killer or a stalker or a complete weirdo. I don’t know him. Just because he’s cute doesn’t mean he’s good._

Jaemin tossed and turned in his chair as he thought.

_But he is really cute._

_Saturday, May 9th - 10:00 am_

Jaemin crawled out of bed with a huff.

The previous night’s events echoed in his brain, and he couldn’t stop himself from sighing as he made breakfast.

Chenle joined him shortly after, and stood at the counter and watched as Jaemin cooked.

“You keep sighing,” Chenle noted. “What’s up? Bad shift at work?” 

“It wasn't work,” Jaemin replied. “It was what happened afterward.”

“Okay, what happened?”

“That guy from the party… do you remember me talking about him?” Jaemin asked.

“Yeah, what about him? Did you finally meet?”

“We met a few days ago,” Jaemin began. “He came up to me at work and asked if I was the kid from the party that he met. But, I lied and said I wasn’t…” Jaemin looked to Chenle who had a frown on his face. The younger boy rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I did it, honestly. But I left before he could ask any more questions. Since then I avoided seeing him at work, and last night he… he kind of found out…”

“Found out?” Chenle asked. “How?”

“He chased me all around the building… the poor guy was begging me to stop but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t face the consequences of what I did. So, I ran outside, trying to get away. But fuck- Chenle rain was pouring last night… and my hair… and he saw and he just… he left. He left me there like the sad loser I am, a-and now I j-just feel dumb.” Jaemin was shaking as he felt tears begin to run from his eyes.

Chenle rushed over to Jaemin and enveloped him into a tight hug, soothing him as best as he could.

“It’s okay, Jaem. It’s okay, shhh, hush, it’s okay,” Chenle cooed, rubbing Jaemin’s back.

After Jaemin had calmed down, Chenle took him to the couch to talk.

“It’s going to be fine, Jaem,” Chenle started. “I’m sure he was just confused! I mean, look- it wasn’t cool of you to lie to him, yeah. But he also pestered you and invaded your personal life for no reason… He was clearly looking for something. And he found it. That’s on him.”

“But what if it’s awkward or he’s mad at me or something?” Jaemin asked.

“I highly doubt he’ll get crazy mad at you for something like this,” Chenle explained. “And who cares if it’s awkward? It’s not like you’re losing someone you were crazy close to or something.”

“Yeah…” Jaemin said, trailing off. “But I think he’s cute… and I don’t know…”

“Well, I say you go explain yourself to him!” Chenle said, smiling. “You can try again with him later. But for now, you need to fix the issue at hand. How does that sound?”

“That sounds good.”

_Wednesday, May 13th - 1:30 pm_

Jisung had finished his graphic design final, and now all he had to do was hand in his painting assignment, and he was done with his art requirements.

He stared at all of the paintings he had done over the last few weeks, pondering over which one would be the best fit.

He chose the first scene he ever made, the one where Jing Xu laid high up on the tops of the trees. Jisung smiled as he signed his signature at the bottom, taking the canvas and exiting his studio room.

Jisung walked over to his painting professor’s office and knocked gently on the door.

“Come in!” a voice called.

Jisung bowed as he entered the room.

“Good afternoon Dr. Kang,” Jisung greeted, looking down at his painting professor, a young woman with long black hair.

“Good afternoon Jisung,” Dr. Kang greeted. “Are you already finished with your final painting?”

“Oh! Yes,” Jisung said, holding the canvas up.

“Beautiful work,” She said, smiling. “But, you have until the final day of the semester to hand it in, are you sure you want to hand it in this early? One week of extra time can really change things.”

“I’m sure,” Jisung said, nodding.

“Alright,” Dr. Kang replied. “You can just leave it against the wall there, and I’ll take it with me on my way out. Did you receive the email about the gallery?”

“Hm?” Jisung asked. “What email?”

“Ah, they sent it this morning so you might not have seen it,” Dr. Kang explained. “Check your email when you get home, then. Email me if you have any questions, then.”

“Ah, okay. Thank you!” Jisung said, bowing once more as he left the room.

~

When Jisung arrived back at his and Jeno’s apartment, he checked his email to see what Dr. Kang was talking about.

_ATTN: SNU Art Department Students_

_Your final pieces will be displayed at the art gallery downtown on the final day of finals, Friday - Monday, May. You are more than welcome to attend the gallery and see your and your classmate’s pieces and exhibits. Bring family and friends. Admission is free. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please email your professors._

_Thank You,_

_-_

_Dr. Choi_

_Wednesday, May 13th - ?:?? am_

In Jisung’s dream that night, he told Jing Xu all about how finals were coming along.

“So you’re having a good time then?” Jing Xu asked

“Yeah!” Jisung cheered. He looked down at Jing Xu’s dark face. The boy was lying on his lap peacefully, looking up at Jisung through the hair that fell from his face.

“You have such nice hair,” Jing Xu noted. “I love the color. It’s so dark and warm.”

“Dark and warm?” Jisung asked, bringing one of his hands up to play with his bangs. “Huh. Normally people don’t associate darkness with warmth. That’s funny.”

“It’s because you’re warm,” Jing Xu said, reaching up and wrapping a hand around Jisung’s neck, pulling him down to kiss him. “Your kisses are warm.” He kissed him once more. “Your face, your body, your heart,” Jing Xu placed his hand over Jisung’s heart. “It’s all so nice and warm.”

Jisung smiled down at the other boy until he was eventually blinking awake.

_What happened?_ Jisung wondered. It wasn’t until he heard the blaring of the fire alarm did he realize what was going on.

He met Jeno in the hallway, and the pair grumpily walked down the stairs with the rest of the students who lived in their building.

Jisung caught sight of a familiar tuft of white hair going down the stairs in front of him, and smiled.

Once Jisung was standing outside the building with everyone else, he pulled Jeno with him and walked over to Chenle and Jaemin.

“Good morning,” He greeted, a deep laugh bellowing from his throat.

“Morning,” Chenle grumbled.

Jeno looked up and smiled at Chenle briefly before his eyes wandered onto a familiar face.

Before long, Jeno and Jaemin were making eye contact, just staring at each other wordlessly.

~

Jisung and Chenle started to walk back into the building once the alarm was done going off, the pair completely forgetting about their roommates.

So there Jeno and Jaemin stood, the world moving around them, people walking between them, the silence of the night filling their ears, and each other’s guilty eyes filling their vision.

Jeno stepped forward first, once everyone was gone.

“Jeno,” He said, holding his hand out to Jaemin. The younger boy looked down at his hand in silence, his eyes traveling back up to Jeno’s face; the boy was wearing a warm smile, his eyes shading his cheeks in delight.

“Jaemin,” Jaemin replied, taking hold of Jeno’s hand.

_Wednesday, May 13th - 3:27 am_

Chenle and Jisung waited at the bottom of the steps for all of the other students to get out of the way, before they headed up the stairs.

“Dream about anything nice?” Chenle asked Jisung casually.

“O-oh, not really…” Jisung said, his face growing red as he recalled just what was happening in his dream. “You?”

“Not really,” Chenle replied. “I did think that the fire was real when I woke up, though.”

“Why?” Jisung asked. “They’re like never actually real.”

“Well, it’s just that I woke up and my body was so warm,” Chenle answered. “I thought Jaemin had started cooking in his sleep or something, and now the whole building was on fire…”

“Your body was warm so you thought Jaemin sleep-cooked and set the building aflame?” Jisung asked, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Exactly!” Chenle cheered.

Once they reached the fifth floor, the two boys stopped.

“Well, this is my stop,” Jisung joked.

“Alright,” Chenle said, sighing. “I guess I’ll see you in class then?”

“Yeah,” Jisung said, smiling as he turned towards the door. “Er- you know what?” He said, turning back to where Chenle was standing on the stairs. “I’ll walk you up to your door.”

“I- okay,” Chenle replied, his face turning a light shade of pink.

There were only a few more steps until Chenle and Jisung reached the sixth floor, but the walk up was in comfortable silence.

After they took the last few strides to Chenle’s door, the two boys stood outside of it awkwardly, just letting time pass between them.

“So…” Chenle said, looking up at Jisung. “Uh… goodnight… I guess? I would invite you in but it's so late…”

“No, yeah of course!” Jisung said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uhm, goodnight Chenle.”

He waved as he started to walk back towards the stairwell, smiling at Chenle the whole way.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thursday, May 14th - 11:00 pm_

Now that he and Jeno were friends, Jaemin wanted to get closer to the boy. 

He would be lying if he said he didn’t have feelings for him.

Jeno was cute, charming, and kind. Of course, Jaemin had a crush on him. 

But he had to start with friendship first.

“Hey,” Jaemin greeted, leaning on the shelf beside where Jeno was standing.

“Hey,” Jeno replied. He was skimming the book titles lightly with his eyes.

“Dreams?” Jaemin asked, reading over the top of the subsection they were standing in. “Are you having weird ones or something?”

“No,” Jeno said, taking one of the books off of the self. “But one of my friends is, and I’m really curious about them, so I decided to do some research because I know he never will.”

“What is he dreaming about?” Jaemin questioned.

“He has this like, weird obsession with this guy,” Jeno explained, looking up at Jaemin. “And it’s not like, weird enough to be afraid of, you know? He just got a bit too interested in this stranger and started painting him into his landscapes. He’s an art major, by the way. So, like, he paints the guy, and then that night he appears in his dream! And ever since then he’s kind of built this friendship with the other kid in his head, I guess.”

“Wow,” Jaemin replied, nodding.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I swear he doesn’t mean any harm by it!” Jeno said, trying to reassure Jaemin. “He’s just lonely, I think. He’s never been in a relationship, and only really made friends in college. He just immerses himself in his art- he always has. Anyway, I want to figure out why or how he’s been having these dreams. I hope you don’t think he’s a freak or something now! Fuck, I really wanted you to meet him, too. Shit, Jaem, if you ever meet him just pretend as if you don’t know any of this, okay?”

“Jen,” Jaemin said, laughing. “I don’t care, okay? It’s probably just his subconscious trying to push him towards new people and relationships. I don’t think he’s weird at all!” 

“Really?” Jeno asked.

“Yes, really,” Jaemin said. “Everyone has weird things about them. I’m sure he’s a great guy.”

“Thank God,” Jeno said, sighing. “He’s my best friend, so it would have sucked if you started thinking he was a weirdo or something.”

“You know what’s funny though?” Jaemin asked.

“What?” “He reminds me of this kid in my architecture group,” Jaemin said, smiling as he went back to putting the books away. “He’s really nice but almost anti-social? And he’s an art major. Every day after class I see him running to the art building, so I asked him about it the other day and he showed me some of his paintings on his phone. You know… there was one painting with a black silhouette in the middle of it…” He trailed off, looking up at Jeno with wide eyes.

“Isn’t his name-” Jaemin began.

“Jisung.” Jeno said, interrupting him.

“Wait,” Jaemin said. “Jisung is the one having those dreams?”

“Yeah…” Jeno replied. “Jisung is in your architecture group? “

“Yes,” Jaemin answered. “What the fuck… Wait- who's the stranger he’s been painting? Is it someone in one of his classes?”

“No, no,” Jeno said. “It’s some kid who sleeps outside of the window of his art studio. I don’t know what he looks like, or his name or anything like that. For all I know, he could be in one of Jisung’s classes. The kid would never notice anyway.”

“Hmm,” Jaemin hummed, leaning back against one of the shelves again. “Maybe we should try to figure out who it is?” he suggested, looking up at Jeno curiously.

“We could…” Jeno muttered, looking back at Jaemin.

The pair smirked at each other.

_Friday, May 15th - 8:00 pm_

Jaemin stared at Jisung shamelessly while they sat in an empty classroom, working on the final touches of their project before their mock presentation.

 _Who could it be?_ He wondered, examining the younger boy’s face.

“Jaemin?” Jisung called, not looking up from the book he was reading. “Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?” He asked, looking up at Jaemin with a stern look. 

“No,” Jaemin said, smiling. “I was just wondering about your paintings. Do you have any due for finals?”

“I have one on canvas and one digitally,” Jisung explained. “Why? Are you interested in switching majors?” “Well, I have to take another art for my major’s grad requirements,” Jaemin lied. “And I wanted to take a painting class. Do you work in the studio in the art building?” “Yes,” Jisung answered.

“Do you think I could stop by to check it out sometime?” Jaemin asked. He could feel Chenle’s eyes on him and shot him a guilty look.

“Sure,” Jisung replied. “Come by whenever. Room 127.”

“Thanks,” Jaemin said, looking back to his computer. He immediately texted Jeno to tell him about this new development.

**_Jaemin (8:13 pm)_**

**__** _Jeno_

_Oh my God_

_Text me ASAP_

**_Jeno (8:15 pm)_ **

_what’s up_

_**Jaemin (8:16 pm)**_

**__** _I’m visiting Jisung’s studio sometime soon_

_**Jeno (8:17 pm)** _

**__** _deadass ???_

_how’d you land that ?_

_**Jaemin (8:18 pm)**_

**__** _I lied and said I needed painting for a req._

_Anyway he said to visit whenever_

_So I’m gonna go and find out who this kid is_

_**Jeno (8:19 pm)** _

**__** _great_

_maybe you’ll actually be able to figure it out_

_lemme know when you go_

_**Jaemin (8:20 pm)**_

**__** _Okie I’ll keep you updated_

_Sunday, May 17th - 2:45 am_

“Why do you cover your hair?” Jeno asked.

He and Jaemin were sitting outside the library and eating a late dinner after Jaemin’s shift.

“Why?” Jaemin asked, reaching up and touching the black strands. “I guess I just don’t want people to judge me because of it. I mean, I highly doubt I would have gotten the job at the library if I had gone in for the interview with bright pink hair. Besides, when I first transferred here I wanted friends. No one would want to be friends with some weirdo with pink hair.”

“But I like it,” Jeno said simply. “It was the first thing I noticed about you.” 

“Really?” Jaemin asked.

“Yeah,” Jeno replied. “At Mark’s party. I walk in, and I immediately see this guy dancing right in the center of the room with bright pink hair. You were captivating.”

“Oh…” Jaemin said, trailing off. He could feel a blush creep up his neck. “That’s really sweet, actually.”

“So I don’t think you should spray it anymore,” Jeno concluded. “Be yourself, and the right people will find you.”

Jaemin looked up at Jeno, who was smiling back at him, his eyes twinkling under the moonlight.

“I’ll think about it, then.”

_Monday, May 18th - 11:00 am_

Chenle was laying out on the roof, as he did every day after his classes.

Today was different, though.

Today, Chenle had taken his medicine but was unable to sleep.

 _Hmm._ Chenle thought. _Why can’t I sleep? Normally I’m out like a light the second I hit the ground. I wonder what’s going on…_

Chenle’s mind traveled back to when he first started taking his medicine.

_December, 2009_

Chenle was eight years old, and he was sitting at his kitchen table, listening to his best friend Renjun rattle on about something that had happened in his class that day.

Chenle couldn’t focus on what Renjun was saying though, because his head was pounding.

Before Renjun could react, Chenle had passed out.

The next thing Chenle knew, he was waking up in a hospital bed, listening to the distant mumble of a conversation that was taking place between his mother and a doctor in the hallway.

When Chenle’s mother entered the room, she smiled, seeing her son awake in bed.

“Honey,” She said, sitting beside him. “Renjunnie said you had a bad headache and then fell asleep, so that’s why we’re here. We don’t want your head to hurt anymore, okay? So the doctor gave us medicine for you to take, alright?”

“Yes mama.”

~

Ever since that day, Chenle has been taking medicine for his chronic migraines.

He never found it to be an issue growing up, but being at college is hard because he has to take a nap after taking his medicine since it makes him drowsy.

His solution was simple: sleep on the warm roof of the math department building. And when the new art department building was built, sleep on the roof of that building too.

Chenle wasn’t bothering anyone. He didn’t care if people saw him and thought he was weird, or if he got in trouble for doing it- he was still going to make his way to the closest roof and go to sleep.

It was comforting for him.

_Monday, May 18th - 11:45 am_

After his morning classes, Jaemin grabbed a quick lunch and then started towards the art building.

Once inside, he greeted the woman at the front desk and headed up the stairs.

 _Jeno said he watches the kid sleep on the roof, so room 127 has to be one of the upper floors._ Jaemin thought. He wandered through the halls until he found himself walking down a small corridor with only three doors.

Room 127 stood alone at the end of the hall, and Jaemin happily approached the door, knocking warily on its surface.

“Come in!” Jisung called from inside.

Jaemin entered the room quietly, looking around the small space that was littered with painting supplies and canvases.

“Hey,” Jaemin greeted, looking out the window, unable to see the surface of the roof just yet.

“Hey,” Jisung replied, moving his bag from where it lay on the floor to one of the shelves. “Sorry it’s such a mess in here, finals are killing me.”

“No, no,” Jaemin said, stepping carefully around the floor until he was closer to the window. “It’s cute! What are you working on right now?” 

“Just painting the landscape from outside the window,” Jisung said simply. “It’s sort of becoming my muse, in a way…”

 _Right._ Jaemin thought. _He paints this scene to communicate with the other boy._

“Let me see,” Jaemin said sweetly, looking over to Jisung as he turned the canvas around, revealing a beautiful scene that almost perfectly matched the one outside the window. “It’s beautiful, Jisung.”

“I guess,” Jisung said, a shy smile coming to his face. “Look outside and see if there’s anything that seems off. It’s kind of nice to have new eyes look at things sometimes.” “Sure,” Jaemin said, taking a deep breath as he turned to face the window fully. 

His eyes scanned the roof’s surface until they landed upon a familiar mop of white hair. The person laying atop the roof had a bodyline Jaemin knew all too well, he was someone Jaemin spent most of his time with, someone Jaemin cooked for every day, someone Jaemin has known and loved as a brother for years now. 

_It was Chenle._

Jaemin tried to stifle his gasp as the realization hit. 

This entire time, Jisung had been painting someone on the roof, someone that was a complete stranger to him, someone he has been having these strange, false dreams about, and that person was Chenle?

Jaemin blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of everything that was unfolding in his mind. 

_Chenle is the person Jisung has had an obsession with this whole time?_ Jaemin wondered. _And he never realized it? What the fuck?_

“Is something wrong?” Jaemin could hear Jisung say from behind him. “You’ve been looking out there for a little while… did I mess something up?” “That kid on the roof,” Jaemin said, turning back to Jisung. “Do you know him?” “What?” Jisung asked, his voice a little too high for that to be a normal reaction. “No… I don’t know him. Do you?” Jisung asked warily.

“No,” Jaemin said, dismissing the question simply. “I just thought that it was weird he was sleeping out there like that. What a weird guy.”

“I know right…” Jisung said sheepishly, trying not to say the wrong thing. 

“Well,” Jaemin said, stepping back across the room and towards the door. “I’ve bothered you enough. The painting looks great, Jisung. I’ll see you in class, then. Thanks for letting me stop by!”

And before Jisung could reply, Jaemin was out the door, nearly running down the hall as he tried to calm himself down.

_Monday, May 18th - 3:00 am_

Jaemin trudged into his shared apartment with Chenle after he got out of work. 

He had had an impossibly long day, and now, on top of everything else going on, he knew that Chenle was the object of Jisung’s affection; something that Jisung didn’t even know. 

Jaemin sighed as he sat down on the couch, Bao eventually walking over to him and settling down in his lap. 

It was just past three am, and Jaemin stared aimlessly at the television as he was lost in thought. 

_How could he not recognize him? He sees him twice a week. He has bright white hair. How could he not know it was him?_ Jaemin thought. _None of this makes any sense. Jisung has been painting Chenle into his dreams? And Jeno said he even became friends with the person he put into his dreams, but that would mean that he would have to know it was Chenle, right? If he doesn’t know it’s Chenle… I wonder what would happen if he found out? I think they’re becoming closer now, but even so… I don’t want to even think about what that would entail._

_Wednesday, May 19th 7:40 am_

“Did you ever visit Jisung’s studio?” Chenle asked casually. 

He and Jaemin were walking to class together, and it was the first day of finals. Chenle was stressed out, but he was still focused on Jaemin and Jisung hanging out alone outside of class time. Although he wasn’t sure why.

“O-oh yeah! I did…” Jaemin replied.

“How was it?” Chenle asked.

“It was nice, uhm, honestly I just wanted to ask him something in private but I still chickened out even when I went…”

“Ask him something in private?” Chenle questioned. “What do you mean?”

“He has a friend… it’s the guy I met at the party that night a few months back. You know, the one from the rainy night… the guy I lied to. Anyway, we patched things up but I still think he’s really cute and I wanted to see if Jisung could put a good word in for me or something… since I kind of ruined that already haha. But then I realized that might make things awkward between me and Jisung.” Jaemin lied.

He hadn’t told Chenle that he and Jeno had decided to be friends and that they were actually working together to help him and Jisung find each other, but a little white lie couldn’t hurt anyone… right?

“Oh, I see what you mean.” Chenle replied. “You never know, maybe you and that guy will come together again naturally. If it’s meant to be, it will be.”

“Yeah,” Jaemin said, smiling. “You’re right…”

_Wednesday, May 19th - 1:50 pm_

After Chenle was done with his last final of the day, he trudged over to his apartment building, later than usual.

He was surprised to see Jisung walking into the building as he approached him, shouting for him to hold the door.

“Hey,” Chenle greeted, catching his breath as he met Jisung.

“Hey,” Jisung replied. The pair entered the elevator together. “How are finals coming along?”

“Oh, you know,” Chenle said, sighing. “Terribly.” 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Jisung said, laughing.

“Oh!” Chenle exclaimed as the elevator doors opened, Jisung preparing to step out. 

“What’s up?” Jisung asked.

“I wanted to ask you something, but it’s probably really dumb,” Chenle said, a sheepish smile coming across his face.

“No, it probably isn’t,” Jisung said, standing in the way of the elevator door so it wouldn’t shut. “Why don’t you come over for a bit, if you’re free?”

“Y-yeah, sure!” Chenle said, following Jisung out of the elevator and down the hallway. 

Jisung opened the door to his apartment and let Chenle in, who only quietly removed his sneakers and stood awkwardly in the kitchen entryway.

“You can go to my room,” Jisung said casually. “It’s down the right hall,” he pointed. “I’ll get some snacks and meet you there.”

Chenle nodded, walking warily down the hallway and into Jisung’s room.

 _So this is his room._ Chenle thought, examining the space before him. 

Jisung’s room was similar to Chenle’s in layout, but it had a lot more stuff than his room did.

Jisung’s room had more art supplies than anything else, and there was a pile of rolled canvases in the corner next to the desk, where there were miniature drawers that Chenle imagined held paint and pencils and whatever else an art major would need.

He looked to Jisung’s made bed and smiled. The bed set was navy blue and boyish, but there was a worn-out stuffed mouse sitting right in the center of all of the pillows, smiling back at Chenle.

Chenle examined some of the small paintings Jisung had piled up beside his bed and noticed a familiar tree-line that was on most of them.

_Is this…_

“Hey,” Jisung said, entering the room with a small tray with snacks and drinks on it. Chenle walked over to him and helped him set the tray down on the ground, where he and Jisung eventually sat.

“Thank you,” Chenle said, taking a sip from his glass of juice. 

“So what did you want to ask me?” Jisung asked. 

“Oh, uhm, this is probably going to sound really weird,” Chenle began, rubbing the back of his neck. “But Jaemin met this guy at a party a few months ago, and it turns out that he’s actually a friend of yours! So I wanted to do Jaemin a favor and see if your friend was single and gay or whatever haha.”

“He met a guy at a party?” Jisung asked, trying to figure out who that could be. “Oh! It must be Jeno, then!”

“Yeah it must be!” Chenle cheered, happy to have Jisung on the same page as him. 

“Haha why didn’t Jaemin just ask me?” Jisung asked.

“He got all nervous about it,” Chenle replied. “He said he didn’t want to make things awkward between you two. Which I totally get! But based on the way he was talking about him after they first met, I just felt like it was only right to try to push it along a little further. And I really think Jaemin deserves a good boyfriend. He’s really been through the wringer with his exes, and I know you must make good company so...”

“I’ll put a good word in for Jaemin, then,” Jisung said. “It’s sweet of you to help him out like this, really.”

“Oh it’s nothing!” Chenle said. “I kinda think maybe it's fate that they met. It might sound corny but it was Jaemin’s first night here and he randomly decided to go to that party and then met Jeno… I don’t know, it feels like destiny in a way. I told him if it’s meant to be it will be. You know? And I think it’s sort of meant to be…”

“Wait,” Jisung said, his eyes going wide. “You told him… what?”

“Hm? If it’s meant to be, it will be,” Chenle answered. “It’s something I’ve always said. Like, everything is planned out, and what’s meant to come to you, will come. No matter what.”

Jisung nearly fainted on the spot.

_Those words… Jing Xu said them to me… right?_

“Is something wrong?” Chenle asked, looking over to Jisung’s pale face.

“Oh, no,” Jisung replied. “I have an old friend who used to say that expression, is all… it just reminded me of him.”

“I see…” Chenle said. He looked down at his watch and noted the time. “I should get going… I have to do something at dinner time.”

“I’ll let you go then,” Jisung said, standing up.

After he saw Chenle out, Jisung sat on the couch in his living room for a while, thinking about what Chenle had said.

_Wednesday, May 19th - 9:15 pm_

At one point, Jeno came home and sat beside him.

The older boy openly stared at Jisung for a while, not bothering to say a single word, in fear of disturbing his peace. Once Jisung realized Jeno was beside him though, he finally spoke.

“Hey,” Jeno said, smiling. “What’s up with you? Something happen today?”

“Something sort of weird…”

“Hm? What?”

“You know that kid who threw his drink on me?” Jisung asked, looking up and making eye contact with the older boy.

“Yeah…”

“He came over today to talk about something, which I’ll tell you about later, but he said something really weird…”

“What did he say?” Jeno asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he remembered that Jaemin had texted him a slew of messages the other day that he forgot to respond to. Just as Jisung was about to speak, Jeno interrupted him. “Wait! I have to pee, uh, really bad. So, let me go do that and then you can tell me!”

Without another word, Jeno flew from the couch and ran into the bathroom, whipping his phone out to give Jaemin his full attention.

_**Jaemin (May 18th, 12:00 pm)** _

**__** _jeno_

_holy fuck_

_jeno_

_reply you idiot_

_ugh oh my god_

_j e n o_

_fine_

_chenle is the boy on the roof_

_i saw him when i went to the art studio._

_this is so fucked up ugh_

_let me know when you see these please !!!!!!!!!!_

_**Jeno (9:30 pm)**_

**__** _Hey_

_**Jaemin (9:31 pm)** _

**__** _wow it took you long enough to reply dumbass_

_**Jeno (9:32 pm)**_

**__** _shut up pinkie_

_jisung is about to tell me something._

_i think it might have something to do_

_with the texts you sent yesterday_

_he said something about chenle_

_so... i'll keep you posted_

_**Jaemin (9:33 pm)** _

**__** _oh fuck oh fuckfhdshbsdh okay_

_~_

Jeno stepped out of the bathroom with a huff and returned to the couch, where Jisung was still sitting.

“Sorry about that,” he said before sitting back down. “Anyway, what’s up?”

Jisung gave Jeno a weird look before sighing and continuing on with what he had been trying to say before.

“In one of my first dreams, Jing Xu told me that ‘if it’s meant to be it will be’ and Chenle said the exact same thing tonight, even when I asked why he said that. They were the same words… exactly.” Jisung spoke, looking up at Jeno concernedly. “Do you think that's just a weird coincidence… or…?”

Now with Jaemin’s text in mind, Jeno thought for a moment. “Uhm… I’m sure it’s nothing, Ji. You’re probably just overanalyzing it, honestly.” 

“You think?” Jisung asked. He looked worried, at least in Jeno’s eyes. 

“Yeah,” Jeno tried. “I’m sure it’s pure coincidence. I mean, what else could it be?”

“Yeah,” Jisung agreed. “You’re right…”

“Is that all?” Jeno asked, trying to change the subject. “You said there was something else you wanted to tell me about…?”

“Oh yeah!” Jisung cheered, looking much happier than he did before. “Chenle’s friend, well he’s my friend too, uhm, his name is Jaemin! He’s the guy you met at the party a few months ago.”

“Jaemin?” Jeno asked, trying to feign ignorance.

“Yeah!” Jisung replied. “He wanted me to put a good word in for him because he thinks you’re really cute and Chenle said that he was too much of a chicken to do it himself. I think you should try going on a date with him, though. He’s a really good guy and he’s really handsome. Why not, right? Apparently, he has a crush on you anyway.”

“He has a crush on me?” Jeno asked. “What do you mean?”

“Well the way Chenle talked about it, it seemed like Jaemin has liked you since the party,” Jisung explained. “I could be wrong, of course. But I think you should give it a shot. I mean, think about what Chenle said… ‘if it’s meant to be, it will be.’ So why don’t you make it be?”

Jeno could feel a blush creeping up his neck, and before Jisung could comment on it, he stood from the couch and walked towards his room.

“I’ll think about it!” He croaked out, disappearing from Jisung’s sight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: very brief mention of blood

_Wednesday, May 19th - 10:20 pm_

After his conversation with Jeno, Jisung got ready for bed.

Finals had started, and even though he wanted to talk to Jing Xu about what Chenle had said, Jisung decided to focus on school and deal with the matter at a later date.

_Thursday, May 20th - 2:00 pm_

It was Thursday, and Jisung was on his way home from his first day of finals when he ran into Chenle.

_Literally._

Jisung was laying on the ground in front of the art building when he felt someone’s hand press against his chest and heard another person sigh in exasperation.

He opened his eyes, looking up and seeing Chenle sitting on the ground beside him, holding his forehead.

“Shoot- Jisung! I’m so sorry!” Chenle exclaimed, pulling Jisung up so he was sitting beside him. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jisung groaned. “Where are you going in such a hurry? Are you late for a final or something?”

“No, no,” Chenle said, looking down at his watch. “I just, uhm, need to be somewhere for lunch so, uh, sorry I have to go!” He stood up, pulling Jisung with him. “I’ll get you dinner or something sometime soon. Sorry again!” He said, racing off before Jisung could ask him any more questions.

Jisung sighed and started walking back to his apartment.

 _He’s kind of… cute?_ Jisung thought. _Like, in a childish way. I want to take care of him… I want to protect him from the world… Hm._

_Thursday, May 20th - 3:00 pm_

Jeno was pacing back and forth in the front of the math department’s building when Yeji came up to him.

“Jeno?” She asked. “What’s up? Are you okay?” “Oh!” Jeno said, stopping. “Hey, Yeji. Uhm, yeah! I’m fine! I’m just… looking for someone right now- er- I guess… waiting for someone right now.”

“Oh, who?” Yeji asked. “Someone I know?”

“Maybe? His name is Jaemin…” 

“Jaem?” Yeji cheered. “Yeah, we’re friends! I actually just got out of the class he’s in. It’s the day of our final, so everyone is taking the exam. I just finished up, so he should be out soon.”

“Oh, really?” Jeno asked. “That’s great. Thank you!” “Is there any particular reason why you’re looking for him?” Yeji asked, her eyebrows quirking up.

“Oh…” Jeno began “Well, I, uh, y-yeah-”

“Jen?” A voice called from behind the pair.

Jeno and Yeji turned around and saw Jaemin running towards them- pink hair on display.

Jeno smiled.

“I’ll get going then,” Yeji said, winking at Jeno before she turned on her heel and walked away.

“Your hair,” Jeno started, reaching a hand up to pet Jaemin’s head. “You didn’t spray it.”

“Well,” Jaemin said, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “Someone told me once that it looked good pink. So, I decided to stop hiding. Do you think it looks okay?”

“I love how it looks,” Jeno said, looking into Jaemin’s eyes. The pair stopped for a moment and just stared at each other. It was as if they could feel something different between themselves.

“So why are you here?” Jaemin asked after a little while, breaking the silence.

“I came looking to ask someone on a date,” Jeno said simply.

“Oh,” Jaemin said, looking down.

“Someone with pink hair and a pretty smile,” Jeno whispered. 

“Huh?” Jaemin asked, looking back up into Jeno’s eyes.

“Na Jaemin. Do you want to go on a date with me?” Jeno asked.

Jaemin stared at Jeno through narrowed eyes, until he smiled, and in a small voice, replied.

“Of course I will.”

_Monday, May 25th - 8:20 am_

Presentations had begun for Jisung’s architecture class, and now he was sitting with the rest of his groupmates as another group had drawled on about the functionality of built-in bookcases.

Jisung yawned and looked to his left.

Chenle was sitting there, staring down at the group with wonder in his eyes.

 _Is he genuinely interested?_ Jisung thought. _There is no way he actually cares about this… right?_

Jisung hummed, and lifted his head from his hand and wrote a small note on the corner of his notebook, sliding the paper over to Chenle.

He watched as the other boy’s eyes wandered down to the words written.

_‘Are you actually interested in this stuff?’_

Chenle smiled as he scribbled a response down before he slid the paperback to Jisung, without looking back over to him.

_‘I think they’re explaining it really well. Besides, it feels nice to have at least one person watching the presentation. Everyone else is asleep. Imagine how they feel.’_

Jisung pursed his lips before he looked back at Chenle, who was staring at the front of the room with his eyebrows raised as if to say ‘Your move’.

Sitting up fully, Jisung scooted a bit closer to Chenle, towering over him from the side.

He sat, watching the presentation with as much interest as he could force.

Until he eventually got bored again, and laid his head back on the table, leaning it against Chenle’s arm.

He slowly wrote out two words on the corner of one of his notebook’s pages before ripping it off and sliding it in front of the other boy.

The note simply read: ‘you win’.

~

After class was over, Chenle turned to Jisung and smiled.

“You couldn’t last longer than what? Two minutes trying to pay attention to them?” He asked.

“It was boring,” Jisung said, pouting. He packed up his bag, and he and Chenle left the classroom together.

“What if no one pays attention to our presentation because they think it’s boring?” Chenle asked.

“Firstly,” Jisung started, as he and Chenle entered the math building. “No one is going to think our presentation is boring. Those kids had such an incredibly boring structure study, that I’m sure Dr. Choi was falling asleep. Secondly, if they do, then I let them sleep. We all deserve rest, especially during the trying time that finals week is.”

Chenle laughed as they stopped in front of his classroom’s door.

“Wait- where are you supposed to be?” Chenle asked.

Jisung froze and looked around, realizing where he was.

“Did you just walk me to class?” Chenle questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“I- it looks like I did, yeah,” Jisung confessed.

Chenle started laughing loudly, filling the corridor with his voice. Jisung smiled.

“Zhong!” A voice shouted from behind Chenle.

Jisung looked over his shoulder to see who it was, and he frowned when he realized who was standing at the other side of the hallway, walking towards them.

 _It’s that guy from the other day._ Jisung thought. _The one that hurt Chenle._

“Hey-” Chenle started, trying to get Jisung’s attention. “It’s fine, don’t-” “Our lele~” Hyunjin cooed, wrapping an arm around Chenle’s shoulders. “What are you laughing so loudly about?”

Chenle stopped and looked up at Jisung with pleading eyes.

“Excuse me,” Jisung said, his voice cold. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Hyunjin frowned as he looked over to where Jisung was standing with narrowed eyes.

“I’m talking with my friend. What’s it to you?” Hyunjin bellowed.

“He doesn’t look very comfortable,” Jisung said simply. “Given that you called him your ‘friend’, one would assume friends are comfortable around each other. Maybe get off of him and leave him alone? Just a suggestion.”

“I didn’t subscribe to any suggestion boxes,” Hyunjin replied. “But fine, you can have him then,” he said, straightening himself up before grabbing Chenle by the shoulders and throwing him at Jisung.

Jisung couldn’t say anything before Hyunjin slipped into the classroom, but he just sighed as he looked down at Chenle, who had his face planted in his chest.

“Chenle?” Jisung croaked out, slowly bringing his hands up to gently tap Chenle’s arms.

“Sorry,” Chenle mumbled. He pulled himself away from Jisung before smiling harshly, a bright red blush on his cheeks. “You don’t need to worry about me or anything, okay? I’ll be fine.”

“You didn’t seem fine,” Jisung replied. 

“Well, I will be.”

“You should stand up for yourself,” Jisung said, sighing. “You’re stronger than you know. He can’t hurt you if you have confidence.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Just tell me if you need anything,” Jisung said softly, before reaching his hand forward and patting Chenle’s hair. “I’ll be waiting if you need help with anything at all. Okay?”

Chenle just nodded before Jisung smiled and walked out of the building. 

_Monday, May 25th - 3:00 pm_

After he inadvertently dropped Chenle off at class, Jisung made his way back to his apartment to work on his graphic design final.

“I wonder why he lets that kid bother him,” Jisung asked himself. He was sitting at his desk, typing away at a word document, when the image of Chenle's face came into his mind. “He looked so scared… hm. He seems like a pretty extroverted person, so why would he let some kid he went to high school with bother him? If that were me, he would just push me off and laugh in my face, right?”

Jisung leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.

 _Chenle._ He thought. _I don’t know much about him, but… I like hanging out with him. He’s a good kid. Him, and Jaemin. I like them both._

He remembered Chenle’s face when he pulled away from him, how red his cheeks were. How cute and puffy he looked.

Jisung smiled.

 _He’s really cute… But… Jing Xu._ Jisung thought. _But Chenle couldn’t be… he… he couldn’t be Jing Xu… right? That wouldn’t make any sense..._

Jisung sighed as he stood from his desk. He walked over to his bed and wrapped himself tightly in his covers.

He needed to sleep. 

He needed to talk to Jing Xu.

He needed to sort things out with his heart.

_Monday, May 25th - ?:?? pm_

Jisung sat up on the rooftop and looked all over for Jing Xu, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Jing Xu!” Jisung called, standing from the roof and walking towards the steps. “Jing Xu! It’s Jisung!”

He walked all around the courtyard, searching for Jing Xu in the small space.

“Where could he be…?” Jisung asked himself. “I guess I have no choice but to wait, then.”

Jisung trudged back up the stairs and looked up to the windows of the art building.

There he was, standing at his window and painting, looking back and forth between the canvas and the roof aimlessly.

 _I wonder why I’m up there…_ Jisung thought. 

He went to take another step towards the building when Jing Xu suddenly popped into his line of vision.

“Jing Xu…” Jisung said, stepping forward to the other boy, who was standing on the edge of the rooftop, about to fall off. “Woah- What the hell?” Jisung asked, pulling Jing Xu forward and away from the drop-off.

“Shoot- sorry, Jisung,” Jing Xu said, grabbing Jisung’s shoulders. He leaned on his right foot and seethed in pain as he looked down at this left ankle.

Blood trickled down Jing Xu’s ankle and seeped out of a few scrapes that lined his skin.

“I guess I scraped myself when you pulled me forward. Sorry,” Jing Xu said, sitting down on the ground. “It’ll be gone by tomorrow, though. So no worries!”

“Why did you appear there?” Jisung asked, sitting beside the other boy. 

“I don’t know…” Jing Xu replied. “Normally I just open my eyes and I’m on the rooftop. That was really weird, honestly.”

“Hmm…” Jisung said.

“Why are you here so early?” Jing Xu asked.

“I wanted to ask you some questions, actually.” Jisung answered.

“Sure,” The other boy replied. “Ask whatever you want.”

“Well,” Jisung started. “I guess I’ll just ask then, uhm. Well, okay firstly, what are you? Or- who are you? Do you know me? Do you know these are my dreams? Are you aware of the fact that I bring you here? Do you remember any of this when you wake up?”

“Woah- woah! Jisung, slow down!” Jing Xu interrupted. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask, ha. Honestly, I thought it would be a little while longer, but… whatever.” He cleared his throat before looking down at the ground. “Uhm, I don’t know who I am. I do know who you are, but only here. I am fully aware that these are your dreams, but I don’t really understand how we get here or why we’re here. I don’t know anything other than what happens here. One day, I just started appearing here. You must bring me here on your own accord, then. I don’t know anything else, though…”

“Oh,” Jisung said, sighing. “I’m sorry for asking you all of that…”

“No, no, it’s fine!” Jing Xu said, shaking his hands back and forth. “I get it. You’re curious. So am I, to be honest. I also wonder… uhm… what _we_ are.”

“Right,” Jisung said, a heavy blush coming to his cheeks. “I don’t really know, either.”

“I care about you a lot, Jisung.” Jing Xu said, his voice dark. “But I don’t think this will ever work, honestly. You and I don’t make any sense… do we?”

“No,” Jisung replied. “No… we don’t.”

Jisung looked back up at Jing Xu, but before the other boy could say anything more, Jisung was awake.

_Wednesday, May 27th - 8:00 am_

Jisung huffed as he made his way to his architecture class.

Today was presentation day, meaning that he was dressed in black slacks and a gray dress shirt - after Chenle ruined his white one.

This was Jisung’s last final, and as he entered the classroom and saw his groupmates, he realized things were almost bittersweet.

“Excited?” Chenle asked him. 

“Sure,” Jisung said, smiling down at the other boy.

“Is this your guys’ last day of finals too?” Jaemin asked.

After the three other boys responded yes, Jaemin smirked.

“Okay. So this Friday night, mine and Chenle’s place. Bring whoever. Y’all down?” Jaemin asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Jisung looked to Chenle and smiled.

“I’m down,” He agreed.

~

After they were done with their presentation, the class was dismissed.

Jisung threw his hands in the air as he walked out of the lecture hall, stretching his shoulders high with the relief of being done with finals.

Once he was done seeing Chenle to class, he started his walk back to his apartment.

When Jisung landed upon the building, he felt his phone buzz.

He had a slew of messages from Jeno on the screen, and squinted while trying to read them.

_**Jeno (9:45 am)** _

**__** _ji_

_j i s u n g_

_p a r k j i s u n g_

_bro_

_are you done w finals_

_please tell me you are hhhhh_

_i wanted to tell you something but ive been so preoccupied w school fuck_

_im done w classes so lmk when you’ll be home,, we can have a movie night and catch up because i need it_

_ill be waiting ~_

Jisung smiled at the messages as he entered the elevator.

It had been quite a while since he had spoken with Jeno about how things were going lately. 

He hadn’t realized that there was really so much going on.

Everything with Jing Xu.

Everything with Chenle.

Everything with the boy on the roof.

Everything going on with him and his life, that had ended up getting entirely too complicated over the span of just a few weeks.

Jisung was also curious about what had ended up happening between Jeno and Jaemin.

Had things worked out?

Did he see him again?

Jisung had a lot of questions, and once he entered his apartment he greeted Jeno with a rushed hello before running into his bedroom to put his pajamas on.

“Jen!” Jisung called from his room.

“Yeah?” Jeno responded.

“I’m putting my pajamas on now so pick a movie!”

“Okay, okay!” Jeno said.

Jisung could hear the laugh in the back of his voice, and smiled as he slipped an oversized t-shirt on.

_Wednesday, May 27th - 5:15 pm_

“So,” Jisung said once their movie was over.

They had eaten chicken and pizza and it was now the early evening, and Jisung was fully prepared to grill Jeno with questions into the early hours of the morning.

“So… what?” Jeno asked, turning back to Jisung on the couch.

“What ended up happening with Jaemin?” Jisung asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh,” Jeno said, looking down as his face turned red. “Well, uhm… I asked him out and now we’re dating…?”

“What?!” Jisung exclaimed. He nearly threw himself off of the couch in surprise once he heard what Jeno had said. “Well explain it please!”

“I uh, took what you said into consideration,” Jeno said, thinking back to Jisung’s words. “And Chenle’s… ‘if it’s meant to be, it will be.’ So I went to his building after his final and asked him on a date. And we went on one… I mean we just ate sushi on the bench outside of the library after his shift but… it was perfect? I think…”

“Wow,” Jisung said, laying back into the couch cushions. “You really… did that.”

“Yeah,” Jeno said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I did. Ha. Well… what about your whole thing with the guy from the roof. Did it end up being Chenle or what?”

“I don’t think it’s him,” Jisung said, scoffing. “I mean, what are the odds, you know? That wouldn’t make any sense anyway. Why would he sleep on the roof like a weirdo every day? Neither he nor Jaemin mentioned anything about that, and I feel like it's something they would have said since I work in the art building every day.”

“Right, right,” Jeno said, sighing.

“I did try to ask Jing Xu about it, though,” Jisung began. “He said he didn’t know anything about who he was or what the dreams really were. He also said that we, well… wouldn’t exactly work out. Which- he’s right. He isn’t even real, so… yeah. I guess that’s over.”

“Well, he is real, right?” Jeno asked.

“What do you mean?” Jisung questioned.

“Like, isn’t he the guy from the roof?” Jeno started. “Why wouldn’t they be the same person, you know? I think that if you like Jing Xu so much, then you’ll probably like the actual guy from the roof even more. I mean, he is real… so.”

“That is true…” Jisung replied, trailing off. 

“What if… it is Chenle?” Jeno asked, trying to sound inconspicuous. 

“If it’s Chenle…” Jisung said, thinking for a moment. “I’ll probably go crazy. Knowing he was so close to me this whole time? And what with everything with Jing Xu? I would prefer if it was someone I didn’t know. It would be easier to let them go that way.”

“Let them go?” Jeno asked. “What do you mean?”

“Like, if it’s someone I know… I would feel like I had this connection with them,” Jisung explained. “If it’s Chenle, I would feel like we had this friendship and all these memories, but they aren’t with him. They’re with Jing Xu. That would feel wrong to me… Especially now that Chenle and I are getting closer. I like him a lot, and if it were him… I just don’t know what I would do. Honestly.”

“All I’m saying is,” Jeno tried, feeling guilt set into his heart. He crossed his arms over his chest in emphasis as he spoke. “I think you shouldn’t be afraid of the identity of the boy on the roof. Who knows… he might be your soulmate or something…”

“Maybe he is,” Jisung said, smiling. “I mean I guess I’ll try and find out who he is, then. If you’re so curious. But after the party on Friday. I need to relax for now.”

“Party on Friday?” Jeno asked.

“Oh! Shoot- yeah,” Jisung said, turning to the older boy. “Jaemin and Chenle are hosting. They actually live on the sixth floor, so it's not like we’re going far. I think Hyuck is going to bring Mark, too. Jaemin didn’t text you about it?”

“He might’ve,” Jeno replied. “I haven’t checked my phone since I texted you earlier.”

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Jeno’s face turned bright red when he saw the abundance of messages on his phone.

All of them being from Jaemin, of course.

_**Jaemin (8:45 am)** _

**__** _Hey_

_Hi_

_Jeno_

_Cute guy in my phone_

_Hi_

_Cutie pie_

_Mr. Handsome_

_H e l l l l l l o o o o o o o_

_It is your boyfriend_

_Hello_

_Your_

_B O Y F R I E N D_

_Is trying to communicate w you you idiot please reply_

_Na Jaemin_

_Please respond_

_Chenle and I are hosting a party on Friday okie?_

_J E N O_

_R E S P O N D P L E A S E_

_:(_

_**Jeno ( 5:20 pm)**_

**__** _hi_

_sorz lol_

Jeno quickly shot back a response before turning his phone off and going back to Jisung.

“He did text me about it, actually,” He confessed.

Jisung laughed as he yawned, feeling the post-stress of finals hitting him harshly.

“I think I’m gonna go to sleep, actually,” Jisung said, looking at the purple sky. “I’m exhausted. You should sleep too, Jen.”

“Yeah I guess,” Jeno said, walking his and Jisung’s garbage over to the kitchen. “I’ll see you whenever you wake up, then?”

“Yup,” Jisung said, smiling. “Goodnight, Jen.”

“Goodnight, Ji.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> 
> follow me on twt to find my other writings and send any questions or kind words to my curiouscat! both: @zhongwritings


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: mentions of blood, broken glass

_Friday, May 29th - 6:30 pm_

Jisung was standing in his bedroom, looking over the outfits he had placed out on his bed. He was trying to decide what to wear.

 _Should I go for blue jeans and a black t-shirt? Or is that too casual? Maybe black slacks and a red dress shirt? No, no that’s too much…_ Jisung thought.

He pursed his lips and stared down at the clothes, taking a step away when he heard his phone vibrating on his desk.

He had a few messages, _from Chenle_.

_**Chenle (6:32 pm)** _

**__** _heyyyyy_

_random question lol_

_but do you guys have any red solo cups ??_

_jaemin swears he bought them but they aren’t here…_

_if not, that's fine !!_

_**Jisung (6:32 pm)**_

**__** _Hey !_

_Yeah I think we do_

_Do you need me to bring_

_some over when we leave?_

_**Chenle (6:33 pm)** _

**__** _yes omg thank you_

_that would be great !!_

_thank you sungie ~_

_**Jisung (6:33 pm)**_

**__** _Sungie?_

_**Chenle (6:34 pm)** _

**__** _oh shoot_

_sorry_

_do you not like it?_

_**Jisung (6:34 pm)**_

**__** _No I think its cute_

_Can I call you lele then?_

_**Chenle (6:35 pm)** _

**__** _sure :^)_

_**Jisung (6:35 pm)**_

**__** _Okay well_

_I’ll see you later then..._

_lele._

Jisung could feel his face heat up once he sent the final message, and he coughed outwardly at the awkwardness he had created around himself.

 _I’ll just wear this._ He thought, opting to wear black ripped jeans and an oversized white t-shirt. _This should be fine._

Jisung met Jeno at their front door, and once they had looked each other over and made sure they had everything they needed, they left their apartment and headed up to the sixth floor, where Jaemin and Chenle lived.

Jeno knocked confidently on the door of apartment number 614, smiling immediately when he was met with Jaemin’s bright face.

“Hi,” Jaemin greeted quietly.

“Hi,” Jeno replied.

Jisung rolled his eyes before pushing past Jeno and entering the apartment.

Chenle was standing in the living room, trying to hang a banner over the couch that said:

“Fuck Finals! Thank God We’re Done!”

He laughed as he approached the other boy, smiling up at where Chenle was trying to balance himself on the back of the couch.

“Hi!” Chenle cheered, looking down at Jisung briefly. 

“Do you need any help-” Jisung was in the middle of asking, when Chenle’s foot lost its place on the cushion, and he started falling- right into Jisung’s arms.

The pair stayed like that for a moment, frozen in time.

Chenle stared up at Jisung from where he was in his arms, his face gleaming a crimson red. 

“I-” He croaked. “I, uh, I’m sorry…”

“That’s okay,” Jisung said, laughing awkwardly as he placed Chenle on the ground.

The two boys just stood and looked at each other until Jeno and Jaemin eventually entered the room.

“Chenle!” Jaemin called from where he was now standing in the kitchen.

“Y-yeah?!” Chenle shouted. 

“Did Jisung bring those cups with him?” Jaemin asked.

“Oh-shit, sorry-” Jisung said, furrowing his eyebrows. “I left them downstairs. Fuck, I’ll go grab them real quick.”

“I’ll come with you,” Chenle said, smiling. “It’s the least I can do- I mean, now, after all you’ve done… I can at least help you carry some cups up the stairs.”

Jisung laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Sure,” He replied. “You can help me carry some cups up the stairs.”

Jisung and Chenle went down to Jisung’s apartment and quickly grabbed the cups, but before they could leave, Chenle asked Jisung a question.

“Can I ask you something?” Chenle asked.

“Sure,” Jisung replied. “What’s up?”

‘Well…” Chenle began. He was looking down at the ground as he spoke, which told Jisung that he was nervous. “I’ve been meaning to ask you… do you have a girlfriend? Or… a boyfriend?”

“Oh,” Jisung mumbled. “No, I, uh… I don’t. Why?”

“No particular reason!” Chenle cheered, an ultra bright expression on his face now. “Let’s get back then, before they start wondering where we are!”

“Okay…” Jisung said, a confused expression on his face as he followed Chenle out of the apartment and up the stairs.

When they got back, Mark and Donghyuck were there.

The six boys hung out for the rest of the night, eating pizza and chicken, drinking and playing games, just hanging out as normal kids do.

_Friday, May 29th - 12:30 am_

Jisung was sure to watch Chenle’s alcohol intake, but it looked like the other boy wasn’t drinking much.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Jisung asked Chenle in the middle of one of the drinking games. 

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Chenle said, a light blush coming to his cheeks.

“You can tell me,” Jisung insisted. “I won’t judge you.”

“I didn’t want to drink in case anything happened between us,” Chenle explained. “I didn’t want to get drunk and then offend you, or spill my drink on you again, or fight with you… you know?”

“Ah,” Jisung said, a smile coming onto his face. “I don’t think that would happen. Do you?”

Now that he had a bit of alcohol in his system, he was more comfortable conversing with Chenle- despite everything.

Jisung wasn’t drunk at all, not even tipsy, honestly. He just felt a little bit more loose with some liquid courage in his system.

“I don’t know what might happen,” Chenle said, a shy smile on his face. “You never know-”

_Splash._

“Oh- fuck, Chenle!” Donghyuck said, his words slurring in his mouth. 

He had just stepped back into Jisung, causing him to spill his drink all over Chenle’s pants. Great.

“Shit- I’m sorry,” Jisung said, grabbing paper towel and trying to wipe the wetness off of Chenle’s thighs. 

“No, it’s fine,” Chenle grimaced, standing from where he was seated at the counter. “I’ll go wash it off real quick, hold on.”

Jisung didn’t say a word to Chenle as he followed him into the bathroom, sitting down on the edge of the bathtub as Chenle went into his room and changed into cotton shorts.

“I’m sorry,” Jisung tried, pouting up at Chenle from where he was sitting.

“It’s okay,” Chenle said, smiling as he ran the pants under cold water. “It isn’t your fault anyway! Hyuck bumped into you. Don’t worry about it.”

“I still feel bad,” Jisung confessed. He took in Chenle’s casual state. He was now wearing a black oversized t-shirt and gray cotton shorts, his black socks pulled up to his knee on one leg, the left one folded down to his ankle, where there was a thick white bandage. “Your socks,” Jisung noted.

“Oh,” Chenle said, looking down at his legs. “All my other black one’s were in the wash so I had to wear these.”

“What about the bandages?” Jisung asked, his voice going darker at the thought of someone hurting Chenle.

“I don’t know,” Chenle said, turning the water off and reaching into the medicine cabinet, grabbing a small orange bottle full of pink pills. “I woke up with it, actually.”

“You what?” Jisung asked, his eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Chenle started, uncapping the pills casually. “Lately I’ve been waking up with these random injuries. It’s like I’m going on some crazy in my adventures or something,” he said, laughing.

Jisung stood up, narrowing his eyes at the pill bottle as his brain tried to make sense of what Chenle was saying.

“Those pills… what are they?” Jisung finally asked.

“I have really bad migraines so I take these to stop them,” Chenle explained. “It’s funny, actually. I take these twice a day, once in the afternoon, and once at night, and they make me really drowsy. I never had a problem sleeping until recently. It’s like my brain is overly active while I sleep or something. So maybe I need to up the dosage? Who knows why I’ve been waking up with the injuries I have been…” He trailed off, looking up at Jisung, who’s eyes were wide with surprise.

“They… put you to sleep?” Jisung asked, after a beat of silence.

“Yeah,” Chenle said, nodding. “It’s kind of weird, but most days I have to take a nap after I take them… I actually sleep on the roof outside of the art building. It probably sounds super weird but I’ve found that since the building was built in that spot, the sun just makes the surface extra comfortable…”

Jisung nearly fainted once he heard what Chenle had said. 

But he didn’t.

Instead, he ran.

He ran out of the bathroom, through the apartment, and out the door, without even putting his shoes on.

He knew Jaemin and Jeno were probably yelling for him, asking where he was going, what was going on, but he didn’t care. Jisung ran as fast as he could heading out into the warm night air of May, letting it envelop him in an embrace.

Jisung didn’t stop running, though. 

He kept going, leaving campus, passing the ramen shop he and Jeno had eaten at after he met Chenle, passing the bar where he and Chenle had drank together after finishing their presentation, passing the old art building where he used to study.

He ran all the way to the city in just house slippers.

He finally stopped when he couldn’t breathe anymore, when the air came flooding into his lungs at a dangerous pace, when reality set in.

He sat down on a bench in front of the art gallery where his and his classmates’ final paintings were on display.

Breathing in a heavy sigh, he quietly entered the building, hoping to not wake the security guard who lay in his chair at the front desk, snoozing away.

Jisung hadn’t even realized what time it was until now.

He had been hanging out with Chenle for the entire night, and well past midnight. Everyone else was there, yes, but he was with Chenle.

Chenle was who he had his eyes on at all times.

Everything up until now was _Chenle_.

Jisung’s entire mind was just _Chenle, Chenle, Chenle,_ as he walked through the gallery, searching aimlessly for his painting.

When he finally found it, though, he broke down.

Jisung’s knees hit the floor with a loud thud as he landed in front of the painting. It stared down at him dauntingly, nearly mocking him with its perfection.

The scene of the rooftop and the boy’s silhouette placed in front of him like an image of his perfect life- seemingly unattainable.

Jisung couldn’t stand it anymore, and he stood up with a rumble, letting tears wash his face as he leaped forward and tore the painting from the wall, the glass of the frame shattering.

Everything washed over him.

The realization of who Chenle was.

His hair. His clothes. His mannerisms. His injuries. Everything added up.

It was an indisputable fact- Chenle was the boy from the roof.

Jisung shook his head, throwing his tears from his face.

He reached into the frame haphazardly, tearing the canvas apart, drenching his hands in blood from the shattered glass that was now cutting his hands.

He screamed and cried as the security guard came rushing over, pulling him from the ruined art, dragging him towards the door in a slowed-down reality.

_Friday, May 29th - 12:00 am_

Jeno rushed over to the emergency room as soon as he got the call that Jisung had been taken there.

Mark drove him in his car, and although everyone offered, Jeno refused to have anyone come with him. Of course, they were worried too. 

But Jeno knew he needed to be alone with Jisung right now.

Jeno stepped into the hospital room Jisung was sleeping in.

“He passed out from exhaustion,” A nurse had told Jeno when he asked for the room number. 

He felt tears come to his eyes as he saw the bandages wrapped around Jisung’s hands. He sat in a chair beside him, sighing as he thought about what could have possibly pushed Jisung to this point.

 _Those dreams…_ Jeno thought. _Jing Xu. He must be stressed about that. And Chenle… as well…_

Jeno’s mind went back to the moment Jisung flew out of the apartment.

_Friday, May 29th - 10:45 pm_

He and Jaemin were just standing and laughing, watching as Hyuck was trying to land his last shot in beer pong.

“There’s no way you’re gonna get it!” Jaemin shouted, a loud laugh coming from the back of his throat. “Hyuck, you’re drunk! You idiot-”

Jaemin stopped as he saw Jisung come running out of the bathroom, flying past him and Jeno, and racing out the front door with nothing but a pair of house slippers on his feet.

He and Jeno tried yelling for him, they even went outside and looked for him before realizing he was gone.

“What’s going on?” Jaemin asked Chenle as he stepped back into the apartment. “Is everything okay?”

“I just- I don’t know,” Chenle said, tears brimming his eyes. “He just rushed out and left. He must think I’m a total weirdo or something! I- I don’t know, Jaem. He j-just left.” Chenle was crying now.

Jaemin sat beside him on the couch, wrapping his arms around him to try and calm him down.

“It’s okay, shh,” Jaemin cooed. He watched as Jeno entered the room and just shook his head, sighing as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “Did you say anything in particular?” Jaemin asked.

“I just told him about my migraine medicine…” Chenle said simply. “He kept asking me these questions about it. So, I told him that it was weird… but I like to sleep outside on the roof of the art building every day. I knew that was strange, but not enough for someone to freak out like that…”

Jaemin’s eyes widened as he looked up at Jeno, who just stood with his mouth hanging open as he listened to Chenle’s words.

The pair shared a knowing expression.

“We’ll find him and then ask about it, okay?” Jaemin asked, petting Chenle’s head.

“Yeah, sure,” Chenle said, sniffling. 

The group waited around for a while, all of them sitting in silence as they tried to figure out where Jisung could have gone.

It wasn’t until Jeno received a call from the hospital, did they realize how much they had taken that silence for granted.

The nurse on the phone didn’t explain anything to Jeno, she just simply told him that he was at the hospital due to an ‘accident’.

“I’ll drive,” Mark said after Jeno explained what the nurse had said over the phone. “I haven’t drank anything so we’re safe.” “Okay,” Jeno said, taking a deep breath as he tied his shoelaces..

“I’ll go-” Jaemin tried.

“No,” Jeno replied. “I’m the only one going. Jaemin you take care of Chenle. Hyuck can stay at my place if he doesn’t sober up soon, okay?”

Jaemin just nodded.

“I’ll keep you updated,” Jeno said, smiling as he stepped forward and kissed Jaemin on the forehead. “You hold things down here. Got it?”

“Got it,” Jaemin said, sniffling his tears away.

_Friday, May 29th - 12:00 am_

Jaemin watched as Jeno left the apartment, and sighed as he looked over to Chenle, who was curled up into himself on the couch, crying his eyes out.

Hyuck was sitting on the edge of the couch, just staring at the floor wordlessly.

Jaemin realized that he had to be the strong one.

He had to take care of the others while Jeno was taking care of Jisung.

“Guys,” Jaemin called out. Chenle calmed his sobs down, and Hyuck nodded slowly in response. “I’m going to clean up a bit, okay? Chenle, come here and drink some water. Hyuck, you too. You both need to be hydrated.”

Chenle whined as he pushed himself even further into the couch, but Hyuck sat up until he was standing, and walked over to Chenle.

“Lele~” Donghyuck cooed, reaching down and shaking the small boy. “Water. Now. Let’s go. Jaeminnie will be mad if we don’t drink the water. Right?”

“Right!” Jaemin replied. He smiled as Chenle slowly removed himself from the couch, and helped Hyuck to hobble over to the kitchen. He handed the two boys water as they settled themselves into their chairs at the kitchen counter.

 _It’s going to be fine._ Jaemin reassured himself. _Everyone is going to be fine. Jeno and I will make sure of that._

_Friday, May 29th - 2:30 am_

Jeno had never felt this way in his life.

He watched Jisung breathe in his sleep, making sure to not let his eyes leave his chest, in case he stopped breathing or something strange happened.

He knew Jisung was strong. 

He knew something extreme must have happened to him for him to end up like this, but he wasn’t sure what that could possibly be.

When Jisung finally woke up, it was nearly six am.

Jeno blinked as Jisung sat up in the bed, reaching for his head with his bandaged hands.

“Be careful,” Jeno warned. “You’re hurt.”

Jisung didn’t say anything as he settled himself into a sitting position. He and Jeno sat in silence for a while, until Jisung finally decided to speak.

“I’m sorry.” Was all he said.

“It’s okay,” Jeno replied. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Jeno tried again. “You’re okay now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything to apologize for,” Jeno said, smiling. “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

“I’m sorry.”

This time, Jeno didn’t say anything. 

He simply leaned forward and hugged the younger boy as hard as he could, crying into his shoulder once he felt tears hit his neck.

_Saturday, May 30th - 9:45 am_

After explaining the situation to both the police and Jisung’s painting professor, Jeno was able to take Jisung home.

He was given bandages and medicine to take care of Jisung’s wounds with, and since they weren’t anything too serious, he was assured they would heal in a few days with little to no scarring.

When they arrived home, Jisung decided he didn’t want to see anyone.

Not Jaemin, or Mark, or Hyuck.

And especially not Chenle.

Jeno knew not to pry, so he did all he could for Jisung while his hands healed.

Of course Jeno simply telling the other boys that Jisung didn’t want to see them wasn’t enough. They still stood outside Jeno and Jisung’s apartment door at mealtime every day, begging to be let in.


	13. Chapter 13

_Thursday, June 4th - 9:15 am_

“He just got his bandages off yesterday, so it shouldn’t be long now. He can do pretty much everything on his own,” Jeno explained. He was leaning inside the doorway to the apartment, watching as Jaemin and Chenle tried to use telekinesis to move him out of the way. “It’s no use,” He said, sighing. “He’ll see you when he’s ready.”

“But I want to know why he left,” Chenle replied simply. Jeno could tell he was stressed out. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping, and if Jaemin’s endless questions that he texted him at all hours of the night were any indicator, he would say he wasn’t sleeping either. “This is clearly my fault. If would just explain it to me-”

“Chenle,” Jaemin said, a dark edge to his voice.

“I know you keep telling me it isn’t, but I can’t help but feel like it is,” Chenle mumbled.

“You’ll see him when he’s ready,” Jeno said, smiling. “That isn’t today, but it should hopefully be soon. Okay? I tell him you guys visit three times a day. Sometimes he smiles. Other times he just nods. Occasionally he doesn’t say anything. You just need to wait.”

“Right,” Jaemin said, wrapping an arm around Chenle’s shoulders. “We’ll be back tomorrow morning, then.”

Chenle sighed as he and Jaemin walked back to their apartment.

Maybe tomorrow.

_Friday, June 5th - 7:00 am_

Chenle went to Jeno and Jisung’s apartment extra early the next day.

He sat outside the door and waited until a reasonable time to knock.

There wasn’t any particular reason why Chenle was there in the first place. He just simply couldn’t stop thinking about Jisung.

His mind was just Jisung, Jisung, Jisung, over and over and over again.

He knew it was more than just the accident.

Chenle realized that maybe he cared so much about why Jisung left him because he felt more than just normal feelings for him.

He wanted Jisung to confide in him as more than a friend.

He really, truly, was sure that he loved him.

Chenle just knew it.

He loved Jisung.

He leaned against the wall as he waited, and hoped Jeno would let him in today.

Maybe it was different today somehow? Who knew.

Tired of waiting, Chenle stood and stepped in front of the door, taking a sigh before reaching his arm up to knock- except his fist didn't land on the door.

It landed right onto something soft.

That something being Jisung’s chest.

Chenle froze as he looked up at the taller boy.

“Ji-” Chenle began, but before he could even get the word out, Jisung was backing away, trying to shut the door.

Chenle was faster though, he placed his foot in between the door and the wall, and winced in pain as the door hit his foot.

_Whatever._ Chenle thought.

“Jisung!” Chenle called, trying to force the door open. “Let me talk to you! Please!”

Jisung didn’t respond, he just pushed even harder on the door.

But Chenle wasn’t going to lose.

He was over the confusion.

This whole time, the entire time he knew Jisung- everything has been backward.

He just wanted something to make sense for once. He was going to get everything to make sense. No matter what.

So Chenle pushed.

He pushed against the door as hard as he could, using all of his strength to open the door.

Once he felt Jisung give, he made that final push- and there it went.

The door was open, Chenle was inside, and Jisung was on the floor.

Chenle huffed out in anger as he slammed the door shut, watching as Jisung rose from the floor with concern on his face.

“Explain.” Chenle said, anger deep in his tone. “Now.”

Jisung clenched his jaw and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked back at the smaller boy.

“I don’t want to see you,” Jisung said, his voice hoarse.

“Why?” Chenle asked. “At least give me a reason.” “I just don’t!” Jisung shouted. “How hard is that for you to understand? Just leave me alone!”

Chenle narrowed his eyes at Jisung.

He wasn’t upset or sad or hurt.

He was angry.

“You know what?” Chenle asked, a scoff raising from his throat. “You’re not scary at all. What? Do you think you’re some big, bad, wolf, or something? Well, you aren’t. You’re just a coward who’s running from his problems! I’m right here, Jisung. Explain this to me now, or you’ll never see me again.”

Chenle watched as Jisung’s eyes shook with his threats.

He knew Jisung cared about him.

He knew he wouldn’t let him go that easily.

“I painted someone,” Jisung began, his head hanging low. “I- it was more than painting. I fell in love with someone. They became the subject of my paintings. They were everything to me, and I… I met them. You see, I was painting them in secret. It started off as a sense of inspiration to help my lack of motivation towards painting. Then it became a habit, and then an obsession. When I met them it wasn’t conventional. It didn’t make any sense. I met them… in a dream.” He looked up at Chenle to see his face, but the boy seemed indifferent. Jisung clenched his jaw as he continued. “At first, they, er, _he_ was just there. But, the more I painted, the more I saw him. It became normal for me to paint him into one of my paintings and then see him that night in my dreams. The thing is, though… is that it was more than that. We, he and I, we built a relationship. It was more than a friendship... if you know what I mean.” Chenle nodded. “I was in love with this faceless being. He wasn’t real. I mean, to me, yeah he was. But he wasn’t fathomable. He was nothing more than a black silhouette. Then, you and I finally became friends. I loved being with you. I was so glad we actually became friends… but I started to feel… different. That feeling drove me crazy. I felt like I was cheating on the boy from my dreams. It didn’t seem right. I tried everything to find out who I was basing my dreams on- I even ended things with the boy, well, I called him ‘Jing Xu’, I ended things with him in my dreams. I knew I liked you, yes. But I wanted to know, at the very least, who it was that I had initially made to be the boy from my dreams. Who was the stranger that I had given life to in my paintings? That’s all I wanted to know…”

He looked back at Chenle.

He was nodding along to everything Jisung was saying, listening and letting him know he was trying to understand it

It broke Jisung’s heart.

“So,” Jisung continued. “I found out who the boy was.” “Who was it?” Chenle asked. The question fell from his mouth in near silence, just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

“You.” 


	14. Chapter 14

Chenle choked back a sob as he heard what Jisung had said.

It finally all made sense.

Jisung didn’t say anything more.

He just turned his back on Chenle and turned to walk away, heading back into his room, leaving Chenle alone once more.

_Friday, June 5th - 7:45 am_

Chenle stood in his spot for a few minutes until he heard a door open and shut.

“Chenle?” It was Jeno.

“Yeah?” Chenle replied, looking up through his tears as Jeno entered the room with a frown on his face.

“Is everything okay?” The older boy asked.

“It will be, I guess…” 

“I’m sorry,” Jeno said. “I know it’s probably a lot to hear. I know it was a lot for him to admit. Saying all of that out loud… it took a lot of courage I didn’t know Jisung had. He’s probably going to need time to figure all of this out. I hope you can give that to him.” “Yeah,” Chenle said, nodding. “I can. I will. I-uh, I’m actually gonna go home for now, though. Thanks for everything, Jeno. Please take care of him for me.”

“Of course,” Jeno said, smiling after Chenle as the younger boy left the house.

_Wednesday, June 10th - 5:00 pm_

The next few days were hard for Chenle.

He didn’t know what to think, or what to do.

Jaemin tried to get him to leave his room, but nothing was working. 

Chenle simply wanted to be left alone.

One day, Jaemin came into his room and opened all of the blinds, trying to get Chenle to move.

“I’m sick of this!” Jaemin shouted.

Chenle just stared at him from where he was on the bed.

“You need to get up and move around!” Jaemin said, grabbing onto Chenle’s arm and pulling him up. “At the very least, converse with me! I feel like I’m living with a fucking mouse.”

Chenle just pouted, turning away from Jaemin and facing the wall.

“Zhong Chenle!” Jaemin yelled. “You are acting like such an idiot, do you know that? This whole situation is stupid. The paintings, the dreams, the other boy… who gives a fuck?”

“What?” Chenle asked, turning to Jaemin.

“What?” “You knew?” Chenle questioned, narrowing his eyes at Jaemin as he stood. “You knew about all of this and didn’t tell me?”

“Chenle-” “No!” Chenle screamed. “You knew why Jisung acted the way he did… why h-he… did what he did. And you didn’t tell me. Not even to ease my mind. You didn’t tell me.”

“What did you want me to do?” Jaemin asked, his face dark. “You wanted me to what? Tell you? Explain Jisung’s problems to you when I barely know anything? All I know is what Jeno told me. And even he was confused about why Jisung acted the way he did. I don’t know what you want me to say, Chenle. I thought that it would be unfair of me to sit here and act like I knew what Jisung was feeling or what he was going through, so I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

Chenle sighed as he sat back down on his bed.

“I’m sorry Jaem,” Chenle apologized. I’ve just been so hurt over this, and… I just want to know what’s going on inside of his heart. Does he hate me? Does he feel well enough to even see me? Does he even care? I can’t help but wonder, you know?” “I get it,” Jaemin said, sitting beside him. “You're allowed to be confused or have questions. I would say.. Just give Jisung some time. He’ll come to you when he’s ready, I know it.”

“You think?” Chenle asked.

“I know,” Jaemin said, smiling. “I also know you need to shower and eat something. So why don’t you take a shower while I make lunch?” Chenle smiled and nodded as he stood up and walked into his bathroom.

_Thursday, June 11th - 1:00 pm_

“Jisung?” Jeno called against the door of Jisung's bedroom. He sighed when he received no response.

“I’m coming in!” He shouted once more, before opening the door and pushing his way inside.

Jisung’s room was a mess.

There were dirty clothes everywhere, and half-finished paintings laid out all across his floor, among the various wrappings from snacks he had been eating in place of meals.

Jeno huffed as he walked over to where Jisung was sleeping. He could see tears in the boy’s eyes and was tempted to wake him up.

_What if…_ Jeno wondered. 

He shook his head as he stepped away from the boy, opting to clean up the room.

After throwing all of the garbage away, and gathering the clothes into a pile in the corner of the room, Jeno moved onto the paintings.

Some of them only had a few brushstrokes of black paint on them- the weakness of an unsteady hand evident on the canvas.

Others had a bit more detail, a few leaves on the trees, or windows on the buildings.

Although they all shared the same scene, none of them were complete.

Jeno wasn’t sure what to do with them, so he just compiled the dry ones and placed them on Jisung’s desk, where the rest of his art supplies were.

Once he stepped out of Jisung’s room, he called Jaemin.

_Thursday, June 11th - 2:30 pm_

“What’s going on?” Jaemin asked when he stepped into the apartment. “I was just at the grocery store so sorry if I’m a bit late. Is everything alright?” He walked over to where Jeno was sitting on the kitchen counter and stood between his knees.

“I’m worried,” Jeno said, reaching down and placing his hands on Jaemin’s shoulders. “Jisung was crying in his sleep, Jaemin.”

“Crying?” Jaemin asked, concern washing over his face. “What do you mean?”

“I went in his room to clean things up a bit since he wasn’t answering when I tried knocking on the door,” Jeno explained. “And he had all these unfinished paintings lying around the room. Of course… he must be trying to contact the boy from his dreams, Jing Xu. I went over to his bed, and there he was- crying. God, I just- I feel terrible. I could have helped him more, you know?”

“You did all you could,” Jaemin said, brushing his hands through Jeno’s hair. “He has to face this on his own. All of this- everything with Chenle, and the boy from the dreams… his injuries. He has to sort it out on his own terms. The only thing you can give him now, Jen, is time. Okay? Don’t force it. Chenle has to be patient too. We all do! This isn’t something that can be dealt with immediately. Unfortunately, we just have to wait.”

“Yeah,” Jeno said, leaning his head towards Jaemin. “You’re right. We just have to wait.”

Jaemin smiled as Jeno jumped down from the counter.

The two boys stared at each other for a while, until Jeno stepped forward and pressed Jaemin against the counter, kissing him softly.

“Thank you,” Jeno said, smiling.

_Wednesday, June 17th - 8:00 pm_

Chenle had gone on in his ill state for a few days.

He would sleep all day until Jaemin forced him out of bed to eat or shower or see the sun.

He tried to get him to think about other things, to try going back to normal, but nothing was working.

That was until Jaemin told him he was going back over to Jisung and Jeno’s in hopes of Jisung being there to talk.

Chenle was laying in his bed staring at the ceiling when Jaemin came into the room and sat beside him.

“Tomorrow I’m going over to hang out with Jeno,” Jaemin said. “And I’m thinking of not mentioning to him that I’m telling you about my plan to visit… and Jeno is really nice… so… he’ll probably let you in. If you want.”

Chenle sighed as he mulled over Jaemin’s words.

“There’s really nothing else to lose, right?” Chenle asked.

“Right!” Jaemin cheered.


	15. Chapter 15

_Thursday, June 18th - 12:30 pm_

And so, there was Chenle, trying to hide behind Jaemin as they stood outside the door of Jeno and Jisung’s apartment, hoping the boy wouldn’t notice the white tuft of hair extruding obviously from Jaemin’s shoulder

“Jaemin!” Jeno cheered as he opened the door, his face immediately falling once he realized what was going on.

“Too late!” Jaemin shouted, and there he went, rushing into the apartment with a solemn Chenle on his back.

“What if-” “Shh!” Jaemin said, clenching his teeth. “He just wants to check up on him. Let the boy do that, at the very least.”

Jeno rolled his eyes before he nodded at Chenle.

Chenle took a deep breath before creeping quietly down the hallway, stopping at Jisung’s door.

He suddenly remembered the last time he was here, in front of this door.

The first time he and Jisung ever really hung out alone, although it was a short-lived event, as Chenle had to leave and take his medicine.

He slowly pushed the door open, revealing a dimly-lit room that was full of silence.

As Chenle sauntered in, he looked around, seeing that it wasn’t as clean as it was the first time he came here.

There were more painting supplies strewn all over the floor, Jisung’s clothes lying stagnant in a dark pile in the corner of the room.

Chenle looked at the pile of rolled canvases beside Jisung’s bed.

 _Those must be…_ Chenle thought. He could feel tears prickle his eyes as he stepped close to the bed, where Jisung was sleeping.

He watched as the younger breathed in and out in a sound process.

“I love you,” Chenle whispered. Just quiet enough for the walls to hear.

Happy to know he was even the littlest bit at peace, Chenle smiled before turning and exiting the room.

He walked back to the kitchen, meeting Jaemin and Jeno once more.

“How was it?” Jaemin asked.

“It was good,” Chenle replied. “He looked peaceful.”

“Well,” Jeno said, sighing. “If you want… you can do it again tomorrow. There’s no harm if he doesn’t know, right?”

Chenle started to nod, before stopping himself.

“Actually, I won’t be around tomorrow,” Chenle grumbled.

“Why?” Jeno asked.

“I have a thing for the math department,” Chenle explained. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, honestly. And uh, I wish I could do this again, but… it kind of feels wrong, now that I think about it. I want to talk to him, and see him, on our own terms. Whenever he’s ready, I’m ready.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” Jeno replied. “You guys can put this behind you and pick it back up where you left off, I think. Why not, right?”

“Right,” Chenle replied. “I’ll go, then. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

“Wait,” Jeno said, stopping Chenle from leaving. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Chenle said, nodding.

“Do you… love Jisung?” Jeno asked.

Chenle could feel the air freeze as the question was placed in front of him, covering him in a blanket of uncertainty.

“Because,” Jeno continued. “I don’t want you to waste either his or your feelings, if you don’t. I think he really cares about you. So, just to make this all make sense and not be a waste of time… I have to know.”

Chenle smiled before he spoke.

Of course, he had just said the words to Jisung, although he was sleeping.

He said it because it was true.

After everything, he knew it was true.

“Yes,” Chenle said. “I love Jisung.”

_Thursday, June 11th - 4:35 am_

Jisung had tried painting for days.

He wanted to get something onto a canvas, just to see Jing Xu one last time before he said goodbye forever.

He sat in his room and cried through the night, trying to make sense of the paint on the edge of his brush, trying to get it to move and create the story he was looking to tell, but it just wouldn’t.

Jisung was frustrated.

“Please,” He said aloud to himself. “Please just let my brain work for just a little while. I’m begging. Please.”

He wailed as he dragged the black paint across the canvas, creating a hard outline of a person. After throwing some leaves into the background and painting the window structure from his studio room, Jisung flew from the floor and threw himself into bed.

 _Please._ Jisung prayed. _Let me see him just one last time._

_Thursday, June 11th - ?:?? am_

When Jisung awoke, he was within the white canvas, the loosely painted leaves swaying openly before him in the air.

He didn’t speak once he saw the black silhouette of Jing Xu sitting quietly on the edge of the building. He was painted magnificently, as if Jisung had taken all the time in the world to create him.

“Hi,” Jing Xu greeted, leaning backward so he could see Jisung.

Jing Xu looked different, Jisung realized. 

He looked like Chenle.

“Jing Xu…” Jisung said, slowly approaching the other boy.

“Hello,” He greeted.

Jisung sat beside him, making distance between the two of them.

“You…”

“Are you here to say goodbye?” Jing Xu asked.

Jisung could feel tears well up in his eyes as he nodded in response.

“Yes,” Jisung said. “I’m sorry-”

“No, no,” The other boy said, smiling as he shook his head. “It seems to me that I have become someone else entirely. I’m not ‘Jing Xu’ am I?”

“No,” Jisung said, shaking his head. He looked down onto the ground as he spoke, the words barely wanting to leave his mouth. “You-You're-”

“Chenle.”

“Yes,” Jisung replied, looking back up at the boy.

He smiled back at Jisung, and started to cry.

With his tears, his skin became clean of the black paint, it was washing away from his face and neck, revealing clean, pale skin beneath it.

“J-Jing-”

“Thank you,” Was all the other boy said before the black paint was stripped from his body entirely, exposing who he was beneath it all.

There he was, right in front of Jisung.

Chenle.

_Friday, June 19th - 12:00 pm_

Chenle walked into the math department building’s lounge, where his class was meeting for their end of the semester party.

Of course, Chenle didn’t want to be there. But he had no choice.

His professor had told his class that if they at least showed face and ate something small, that he would give them their final grades on the way out.

So, Chenle figured he wasn’t doing much else, and maybe not having to wait another week for his final grade would put him in a better mood.

All he had to do was show up and eat a muffin and he would be back to camping outside of Jisung’s apartment like he had been for the past five days.

That didn’t sound too hard, right?

Except, yes, it was fairly hard.

Even though it was mid-morning, his classmates were all sprawled out on the floor of the lounge with drinks in their hands, relaxing like they were on an island in the middle of the Caribbean.

“What are you doing?” Chenle asked his classmate, Xiaojun.

“Dr. Kim said he had a family emergency so he left our papers with Hyunjin,” Xiaojun explained. “And Johnny brought beers… because he’s Johnny… so, yeah, no we’re just chilling. There's food by the way!”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Chenle said, grimacing as he turned away from Xiaojun and made his way over to Hyunjin, who was standing on the other side of the room with a stack of papers in his hand, staring at his phone.

 _Just remember what Jisung said._ Chenle thought. _“You’re stronger than you know. He can’t hurt you if you have confidence.”_

His mind was racing as he approached the other boy. 

He wasn’t even afraid of Hyunjin, really. He just hated how the boy’s presence made him feel. He felt weaker in front of him. Like there was a spotlight on him.

“Do you have my grade?” Chenle asked nonchalantly, trying to sound as confident and casual as possible.

Hyunjin looked up with a huff, and rolled his eyes as he saw Chenle was standing in front of him.

“Yeah, sure I have it,” Hyunjin said, stepping away from Chenle and smirking. “Come with me if you want it.”

“What-” Chenle said, looking to his tipsy classmates for any sort of help. He shook his head before following Hyunjin out of the building and to the small bit of courtyard that lay right behind it.

“What do you want?” Chenle asked.

“I see your guard dog isn’t here today,” Hyunjin noted. “Did You break up or something?” “Break up?” Chenle asked incredulously. “He-he wasn’t my boyfriend. He’s just a… friend, is all. Now, my exam. Please.”

“Hmm,” Hyunjin said, stepping a bit close to Chenle, until the younger boy had his back up against the brick of the building. “You’re gonna have to pay for it.”

“P-pay for it?” Chenle asked. His face was bright red in stress. Having Hyunjin so close to him made him want to cry. Why was he doing this?

“Hyunjin, enough! Please just give me my test. I'm sick of your jokes. Please. I’m sorry if I ever bothered you or anything but, I- I didn’t mean to. Please just let me go.” Chenle pleaded.

“You did do something, though,” Hyunjin said. His face was just a few inches from Chenle’s now. They were so close together, Chenle could feel the other boy’s breath fan across his face. He squeezed his eyes shut as Hyunjin continued to speak. “You just have to give me one thing. And then I’ll leave you alone. Sound good?”

“Wait...” Chenle said. “What did I do? I-I’ll try and fix it… so please move…”

“The thing you did? Hm,” Hyunjin said, smirking even wider now. “You made me like you.”

“Wh-”

“You always played so hard to get,” Hyunjin continued. “You made it nearly impossible to get close to you. And you neglected me because of the fact that we were competitors. But God, Chenle. That just made me like you even more. Now, you’re going to have to repay me for that. You know, I should probably tell you… I’m actually transferring schools. I’m going to the US to study, so you probably won’t ever see me again. That’s why I need my reparations now. Before I go and leave you to live a comfortable life.”

“You, what?” Chenle asked, his eyes coming open as Hyunjin’s words started to make sense in his head. “You said you like me…?”

“Yes,” Hyunjin replied. “So what I want from you is this,” He said, leaning in even closer to Chenle, forcing his head back against the wall as he brought their noses together.

Just before it could go any further though, Hyunjin was gone. As soon as he came, he was gone.

Chenle couldn’t feel his presence in front of him anymore, and once he opened his eyes, he realized why.

Jisung was there. Standing in front of him.

His back was to Chenle, but he knew it was Jisung. He had studied those shoulders, for so long.

His scent, his hair color.

All of it, Chenle knew.

He heard Jisung yelling something, and saw Hyunjin get up and run, but Chenle wasn’t sure what had happened.

He saw Jisung’s shoulders shake, until he finally turned around and faced him again.

“You-” Jisung started, looking over Chenle’s red face. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…” Chenle replied. He took in all of Jisung’s features as he stood in front of him.

His eyes.

His nose.

His lips.

Chenle was so glad to finally have him back in front of him again.

Without another beat of silence, Jisung pulled Chenle into his chest for a hug.

He held him there for what felt like forever. Just breathing. Taking in each other’s presence.

_Friday, June 19th - 1:30 pm_

After pulling away, Chenle and Jisung headed through the courtyard and walked back to their building.

Neither one of them spoke.

They weren’t sure what to say.

After all of this, what was there to be said?

Chenle got into the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

If he and Jisung were going to talk things out again, it was going to be on his terms.

“Do you want anything?” Chenle asked once they were inside.

“I’m okay, thank you,” Jisung replied. He stood awkwardly next to the kitchen entryway as if he was waiting for permission from Chenle to move.

Chenle didn’t say anything and just let him follow him into his bedroom.

Once inside, Jisung realized just how different from him Chenle was.

His room was bright, and there were maps all over the walls. His desk was full of school supplies and workbooks, things that were nearly unfamiliar to Jisung.

It was an entirely different room.

Chenle sat down on his rug, patting the space in front of him for Jisung to join him.

Jisung just cleared his throat as he sat.

He clasped his hands together as he waited for Chenle to speak.

“All of this,” Chenle began, a small smile on his face. “Is so confusing. I don’t think I’ve ever been so confused by a situation in my entire life. Which, honestly, sounds crazy. I honestly think if you had told me everything a month ago, I probably would have laughed in your face and forgotten about it. It sounds so strange. And, look, I’m not saying that to upset you. I’m just being honest. But now… I feel different. When you left that night, I felt so hurt. I didn’t know what happened, or what I had done, or what you left for. I felt so alone during that time. But on top of all of that, I was so afraid of what had happened to you. Jaemin has told me it wasn’t my fault that you felt that way and did what you did… but… I just felt like it was. I still do. I still feel like I did something so terrible to make you feel that way. And then when you finally said why you left… well, of course, I thought it was crazy. Who wouldn’t? It sounded too weird to make any sense. But then I spoke with Jaemin about everything. He told me he knew for a while. I’m not sure if you knew that, but Jaemin explained to me that he saw me asleep outside on the roof that day he went to go visit you. At first, I wondered why he hadn’t told me this in the first place, but then it made sense. No one wanted to rush or hurt you. I understand, honestly. If I were you, I wouldn’t want everyone to know my business or that part of my private life. I can also see why you hesitated to tell me. But, Jisung.” The younger boy looked up at him, a hard expression on his face. “I don’t care about any of that now. I… I like you… a lot. I don’t know how you feel about me, or if you even want to be with me after everything you went through with your dreams, and the paintings and everything, but I’m telling you the truth when I say none of that matters to me. You’re still the Jisung that I threw my drink on. You're still the Jisung that I got put into a project with for our architecture class. You’re still the Jisung who has helped me countless times, with everything… school… Hyunjin… all of that. My view on you hasn’t changed. You’re still the Jisung that I like. So now, I want to know how you feel.”

Jisung didn’t say anything for a while as he took in Chenle’s words.

They sat in silence for a while, just letting the air around them grow stale with tension.

But just as Chenle had reached his limit, Jisung spoke.

“How do I feel?” Jisung asked. “I… Chenle, I need you to know that none of this was your fault. I built this silly little world in my head. Yes, I had a relationship with Jing- er, the boy in my dreams. But even if I thought it was real… it wasn’t. I cared about him a lot, and I looked forward to seeing him every day, he wasn’t real. He was… someone I had created in place of you. You know, I spent so much time thinking about myself… I never stopped to worry about you. So, I’m sorry for that. Hearing about all of this from your perspective has really reminded me that this isn’t something that solely involves me. Chenle… I’m sorry.” Jisung croaked out, tears falling from his eyes and splashing harshly against his shirt.

Chenle didn’t know what else to do, so he simply leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the younger boy.

“It’s okay,” Chenle said, rubbing Jisung’s back. “I forgive you. So, please, please, please… just… be okay.”

“Okay,” Jisung said, sniffling.

The pair sat together and hugged for a few more moments before Jisung pulled away and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“But, uhm, Chenle…” 

“Yeah?” Chenle asked.

“I… I like you too,” Jisung confessed. “So… Can you give me another chance? Please?”

Chenle smiled so wide, Jisung was sure he could see his molars.

“Of course.”

~

Chenle and Jisung walked out of Chenle’s room and into the living room.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Chenle asked once they stepped into the common area. “I know you said no earlier, but I’m honestly really hungry. And Jaemin isn’t here so it’s not like we can get him to cook something for us.”

“I actually am kinda hungry, now that you say that…” Jisung replied. “What time is it?”

Chenle leaned into the kitchen to see the time on the microwave.

_Friday, June 19th - 3:30 pm_

“It’s three-thirty,” Chenle answered. “Do you want to get a late lunch? I can order something.”

“Sure,” Jisung said, walking over to the kitchen table to sit. “Oh! Uh- Chenle…”

“Yeah?” Chenle asked, walking towards where Jisung was standing with one of the chairs pulled out. He looked over Jisung’s shoulder at what he was staring at.

_Bao._

“Oh!” Chenle said, starting to laugh. “This is Bao. Mine and Jaemin’s cat.”

“You have a-” Jisung started saying, when the realization hit. 

Suddenly, he was taken back to an event that took place many, many, nights ago.

_As the sun was long past its setting point, Jisung sat and watched the sleeping figure stir and eventually rise from its position._

_The boy stretched momentarily before walking over to a flight of stairs adjacent from Jisung’s window, but right before he headed down the stairs, he stopped._

_Jisung watched as the boy approached a gutter and crouched down onto his knees. Jisung tried his best to make out what the boy was doing as he rolled his sleeves up and put his arm down into the chute. After fishing around for a few moments, he pulled something out._

_From what Jisung could tell, the thing the boy was holding in his hands was a black ball of fur, and then- it meowed._

_Jisung could see the boy jump around for a few seconds and then finally tuck the kitten into his jacket before bounding down the stairs- never once revealing his face to Jisung._

_So he’s sweet too? Jisung wondered. He was almost able to feel himself physically swoon over the boy as he replayed the scene of the boy dancing with the kitten in his arms over and over again in his head._

“You do have a cat,” Jisung said, reaching down and smiling brightly at the black cat that he had seen all those months ago. “Where was he at your party?”

“We hid him in my room because Jaemin said Jeno was allergic to cats,” Chenle explained. “But he hasn’t had a reaction yet since coming over, and Bao’s fur is all over the place… so maybe he’s hypo-allergenic or something?”

“Where did you get him?” Jisung asked, knowing full-well where Chenle got Bao from.

“I found him randomly a few months ago,” Chenle said, smiling. “That’s actually why his name is ‘Bao’. In Chinese, that means ‘treasure’, well, a shortened version of it. It’s very common for people to name their cats that since they think it will bring them good luck or something. Who knows. Anyway, what do you think about Italian for dinner?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jisung replied.


	16. Chapter 16

_Friday, June 19th - 9:15 pm_

Chenle and Jisung sat and chatted for hours as they ate.

They were sure to get to know each other better this time.

After everything they had been through, at the very least they deserved that.

Jaemin ended up coming home at around 10, and he was met with the pleasant surprise of Chenle and Jisung cuddled together on the couch watching a movie.

He and Jeno had just gotten back from a full day of fun, when they walked into the scene.

“Lele?” Jaemin called, as he approached the back of the couch. He peered his head over and smiled wide as he was met with Chenle and Jisung’s red faces. “Hi kids~” Jaemin cooed as he wrapped his arms around the two of them.

Jeno laughed outwardly as he turned the lights on.

“Hey guys,” Jeno said, approaching the pair. “I’m glad to see things worked out.”

Jisung smiled up at Jeno before Jaemin pulled away.

“We brought home desserts if you’re hungry,” Jaemin said, walking over to the kitchen table and pulling a box out from one of the bags he and Jeno had brought home.

“Sure,” Chenle said, rising from the couch.

The four boys sat together at the table and munched away at the various desserts Jeno and Jaemin had brought home.

“So,” Jeno said. “What exactly happened?”

“Well you know how I said I had that math department thing I had to go to earlier?” Chenle asked.

Jeno and Jaemin nodded.

“Well, O have to go in order to get my final exam grade,” Chenle explained. “So, I go. And all of my classmates are laying out throughout the math lounge like they were on some extravagant vacation to the islands or some shit. Anyway, I ask one of my classmates where my professor is, and he tells me that he ended up leaving because of a family emergency and that Hyunjin is holding our exams. So I go over to Hyunjin to ask for my exam, and he ends up bringing me outside because he wanted to ask me something… well… he ends up telling me he likes me and that I needed to ‘pay him reparations’ for not liking him back or something. Of course, I’m scared and confused, and I have no idea what to do; and Hyunjin goes to push me against the wall to kiss me-”

“What?” Jaemin exclaimed.

“Wait, wait,” Chenle said, sighing. “So, he goes in to kiss me, and then all of a sudden Jisung shows up and pushes him off of me. And then Hyunjin was gone, and it was just Jisung and I. Then we ended up coming back here to talk, and, well…. Here we are.”

“Wow,” Jeno said. “Are you alright?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” Chenle replied. “But- wait.” He turned to Jisung with furrowed eyebrows. “How did you know where I was? You haven’t left the house in days…”

Jisung’s face got visibly more red as soon as he heard Chenle’s question.

“I, uh…” He started, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yesterday you came by, right?” Chenle nodded. “Well… when you came into my room I wasn’t actually asleep… and I heard uhm… I, uh…. I heard Jeno say he would see you tomorrow, and then you said you weren’t going to be here because of your math department thing. I knew you and Hyunjin weren’t on good terms, so I went just to make sure you were okay. It is a good thing I went, though. God only knows what would have happened if I wasn’t there.”

“Right,” Jaemin said, nodding.

Chenle nodded until Jisung’s words started to unravel in his head.

_Well… when you came into my room I wasn’t actually asleep… and I heard uhm… I, uh…. I heard Jeno say he would see you tomorrow…_

Chenle thought back to the day previous, when he went into Jisung’s room without permission.

_“I love you,” Chenle whispered. Just quiet enough for the walls to hear._

_“Wait,” Jeno said, stopping Chenle from leaving. “Can I ask you something?”_

_“Of course,” Chenle said, nodding._

_“Do you… love Jisung?” Jeno asked._

_Chenle could feel the air freeze as the question was placed in front of him, covering him in a blanket of uncertainty._

_“Because,” Jeno continued. “I don’t want you to waste either his or your feelings, if you don’t. I think he really cares about you. So, just to make this all make sense and not be a waste of time… I have to know.”_

_Chenle smiled before he spoke._

_Of course he had just said the words to Jisung, although he was sleeping._

_He said it because it was true._

_After everything, he knew it was true._

_“Yes,” Chenle said. “I love Jisung.”_

Chenle’s face was beet red once he realized just what Jisung heard.

“W-well…” Chenle said, raising from his seat. “I’m actually uh… pretty tired so… Jisung can I walk you back to your apartment? I think I’m ready to hit the hay! Haha…”

“Sure-” Jisung was about to say, when Jeno rose from his seat with a smile.

“You know what?” He said, looking over to Jaemin. “Jaemin can walk me back… we kind of came in and interrupted you guys so I think we should head out and leave you alone for a bit.”

“Are you sure?” Chenle asked.

“Yeah,” Jaemin said, standing and walking over to the door with Jeno. “I’ll be back soon, though. Alright?”

“Okay,” Chenle said, waving as the two other boys stepped out the door. He shrunk into himself once he realized he was alone with Jisung again, after he had heard what he said the other night.

_I love you._

“Is everything okay?” Jisung asked Chenle, even though he was fairly sure he knew why Chenle was suddenly acting so quiet and reserved.

“Y-yeah,” Chenle replied. “I’m fine… just tired, is all. It’s been a long day.”

“Do you really wanna stay and hang out for a bit longer?” Jisung asked. “Unless you’re too tired.”

“No, no,” Chenle said, perking up slightly. “I’m sure Jeno and Jaemin want some alone time, anyway. I’ll hang out for a bit, sure.”

Jisung smiled, grabbing Chenle’s hand and walking over to the couch so they could sit.

“I was thinking,” Jisung began. “Uh… do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Chenle asked, his head tilting slightly sideways. “Sure. What do you want to do?”

“Maybe we can go on a… uhm…” Jisung said, his face growing red. “A proper… date?”

“Yes!” Chenle cheered, his face instantly growing brighter.

“Really?” Jisung asked.

“Of course!”

“Oh-okay! Good!”

Chenle smiled fondly over at Jisung as he sunk further into the couch.

“You know…” He mumbled. “I'm really happy I threw my drink on you.”

“Really?” Jisung asked, his eyes narrowing. “Why?” “If I hadn’t… who knows how we would have met, you know?” 

“That’s true,” Jisung admitted. “You still owe me a white silk shirt, by the way.”

“You gave me a black eye!” Chenle shouted. 

“I did?” Jisung asked, a deep laugh bellowing out of his chest. “No way!” “You did!” Chenle said, nodding. He sat up so he could look over at Jisung properly. “Jaem has pictures on his phone to prove it!” “Well I’m sorry,” Jisung said, reaching up and cupping Chenle’s face with his left hand. He brushed the space under his left eye gently. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was the alcohol, I swear.”

“It’s fine,” Chenle said, pouting as he leaned into Jisung’s touch.

The two boys stared at each other for a moment, before Jisung slowly sat up, moving in close to seal the space between them.

“I’m home!” Jaemin shouted, walking into the living room with a big grin on his face.

“Okay!” Chenle replied, throwing himself backward and away from Jisung- right before their lips could touch.

“I-I, uh… I’ll get going then!” Jisung shouted, nearly sending himself into the air with the force in which he used to get up off of the couch.

“Okay…” Jaemin said, scrunching his face up in confusion as he made his way into the kitchen.

“I’ll see you out,” Chenle announced, rolling off of the couch and onto the floor. After gathering himself, he stood up and walked towards where Jisung was standing.

The two boys walked to the front door with bright red faces that Jaemin tried to ignore as he washed the dishes.

Once they were in the foyer and away from Jaemin, Chenle smiled.

“I’ll see you tomorrow…” He said, trailing off.

“How about 4 o’clock?” Jisung suggested. “I’ll come and get you at four… so be ready, okay?”

“Wait- what should I wear?” Chenle asked.

“Something casual! Like, I don’t know… jeans I guess,” Jisung replied.

“Okie dokie,” Chenle said, smiling.

Jisung walked towards the door and smiled back at the other boy as he walked through it.

“Goodnight, lele.”

“Goodnight, Sungie,” Chenle replied, watching as Jisung closed the door, disappearing.

After a moment, Chenle ran out the door after Jisung.

“Ji-” Chenle shouted, stopping when he ran right into the other boy, who was still standing outside the door.

“Uh-”

“Goodnight!” Chenle said, hugging Jisung tightly.

Jisung froze for a moment before he tilted his head and leaned it onto Chenle’s, hugging him back.

“Goodnight.”

They stayed like that for a while, just hugging, trying to recharge after the long day.

When Chenle finally pulled away, he stood in the frame of the door and just stared at Jisung for a moment, hearts filling his eyes to the brim.

Jisung waved shyly before he backed up and started to walk down the hall backward- never stopping his waving.

Without another beat, he stopped and ran towards Chenle, quickly planting a small kiss on his cheek before he turned back around and ran down the hallway, screaming a shy “goodnight!”

_Saturday, June 20th - 10:00 am_

Chenle woke up extra early in preparation for his date with Jisung.

He headed out to the kitchen and made breakfast for both himself and Jaemin, humming along to whatever song was playing in his head.

“I’m assuming you’re going somewhere with Jisung?” Jaemin asked him, stepping out into the dining room and sitting at the table.

“Yeah~” Chenle sing songed. “We’re going on a real date today! Our first one ever!”

“So yesterday went well, then?” Jaemin asked.

“It went really well,” Chenle said, walking over to the table with two plates of breakfast food. “We talked things out and I ended up telling him that I liked him, regardless of everything that happened. He seems… a lot better, after everything. I understand what he went through was hard. I’m going to try to be there for him, no matter what.”

“I’m glad,” Jaemin said, smiling. “What are you guys doing today?”

“I’m not really sure…” Chenle replied, trying to remember if Jisung had said anything the night before. “He didn’t tell me what we were doing, actually… I guess it’s a surprise!” “It must be,” Jaemin responded, laughing quietly to himself.

~

Chenle looked himself over in the mirror, before straightening out his shirt and nodding to himself.

 _This is cute._ Chenle thought. _For a first date! This is really, really, really cute!_

He stepped out into the living room and sat down on the couch beside Bao, petting him lightly as his thoughts raced through his head.

_I'm going on a real date… a real first date… and it’s with Jisung…_

He nearly squealed with excitement as he heard the doorbell ring, getting up and rushing to put his shoes on before4 opening the door for Jisung.

Chenle took a deep breath before opening the door, being greeted by a smiling Jisung.

“Hi,” Chenle greeted, stepping aside so Jisung could step into the foyer.

“Hi,” Jisung said, putting his hand out to Chenle.

In Jisung’s hand was a paper rose, it’s petals being made of various colors of folding papers, wrapped around a paintbrush, which was being used as the stem. 

“I made this last night,” Jisung said, his hand visibly shaking as he handed the rose to Chenle.

“It’s so pretty…” Chenle said, a bright smile coming into his face. His eyes sparkled as he examined the rose, taking in it’s every detail and color. “I love it so much, Jisung. Thank you.” He looked back up at Jisung, a shine in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “I-I didn’t make anything for you, though… uhm, I-”

“That’s okay!” Jisung said, waving his hands vigorously to make Chenle stop worrying. “You being here, and going with me... That’s enough for me. Honestly.”

“Oh, okay,” Chenle said, growing bashful. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yup!” Jisung cheered.

The two boys stepped out onto the campus courtyard, and as Jisung led the way, Chenle couldn’t help but feel the ever-growing curiosity bubble in his chest.

“Where are we going?” Chenle asked, trying to be casual.

“It’s a surprise…” Jisung answered, trailing off as he looked down at Chenle from his peripheral.

“Hmm,” Chenle said, nodding. “Fine!”

The walk was leisurely, and Chenle realized that he wouldn’t have cared if Jisung brought him to eat lunch in the campus’ cafeteria… he was just glad to be here with him.

“I hope this is okay,” Jisung said, leading Chenle up an all-too-familiar set of steps. “I wanted it to be meaningful.”

Chenle was about to respond as he hit the top of the steps, landing on the roof of the art building, a space he knew too well.

He looked around the roof space, which was usually decorated in a fairly plain way.

Jisung had put out two big cushions for them to sit on, and had hot food waiting on a small table for them to eat. -thanks to Jeno-

“Jisung,” Chenle said, stepping closer to the area Jisung had set up for them. “This is so nice… oh my goodness. When did you set all of this up?” “I got here this morning,” Jisung said, a bright red blush coming to his cheeks. “Jeno helped me out a lot so… I’m gonna have to repay him somehow haha.”

“I can’t believe you would do something like this for me,” Chenle said, turning to Jisung and pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you so much. For everything,” he mumbled into the taller boy’s neck. “This makes me so happy.”

“Of course,” Jisung said, wrapping his arms around Chenle. “You deserve it.”

After an almost tearful departure, Chenle and Jisung sat down on their cushions and started to eat.

The longer they sat and ate, the more Chenle could feel his heart fill with love and admiration for Jisung. After everything they had gone through, he knew this was right. He knew that even though they started in a bad way, and they had many, many rough patches throughout their friendship… this being the way they ended up just made sense. Chenle couldn’t help but smile as he looked up at the sunset.

“Why are you smiling?” Jisung asked. “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” Chenle answered simply. “I’m really… happy. I know maybe we seem crazy, and maybe our love story is unconventional… but I’m just… I’m really happy Jisung. Thank you for this. I’m not just saying thank you for this beautiful date, or the food, or every single thing you’ve done for me over these past few months. I’m saying thank you for being you, and for… existing? I guess… I… I can’t help but smile at everything. You’ve really made life worth living for me. Thank you for that.”

“Chenle,” Jisung said, a smile coming onto his face. 

The longer Jisung stared at Chenle, the more he realized how much he truly cared for the other boy. He knew them meeting was fate. He just knew it.

As the sun set around Chenle and Jisung, Jisung knew Chenle was so much more than the boy who threw his drink on him, or the boy who was easily hurt by others, or the boy who just so happened to be in his group for his architecture project.

Chenle was more than the boy on the roof.

Chenle was the one person in this world Jisung knew he loved.

Without a second thought, Jisung slid himself forward and leaned over Chenle.

He stared into the deepest depths of the other’s eyes, and pushed himself through all of the fear he was feeling, meeting Chenle in the middle.

Jisung knew once their lips connected, that this was meant to be.

Separating momentarily, Chenle looked up at Jisung, feeling the redness enter his skin. He felt vulnerable under Jisung’s eyes.

Jisung’s eyes were telling him that he wanted more.

Chenle couldn’t help but agree.

So, he leaned up once more, colliding their lips in a kiss that was full of fervor.

Jisung pushed hard against Chenle, until the smaller boy was underneath him completely, his back pressed against the cushions.

Chenle thrust his hands into Jisung’s hair, feeling the soft black strands in between his tiny fingers. He tugged gently on them as Jisung tilted his head up so he could get better access to the inside of his mouth.

Chenle could feel one of Jisung’s hands cupping the left side of his face, his thumb brushing gentle strokes against the skin just beneath his eye- right where he punched him all those months ago.

Once they pulled apart to catch their breath, Chenle couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Jisung asked, his face just a few inches from Chenle’s. His face was bright red, from what Chenle could see.

“You’re so sweet, you know that?” Chenle asked as he brushed Jisung’s hair from his eyes. 

“How so?” Jisung questioned. He leaned his forehead into Chenle’s palms as he started to speak.

“You just are,” Chenle said, a small giggle coming from his lips. 

Just as Jisung was about to speak, the exterior lights that hung loosely around the building lit up, dimly illuminating the two boys in a foggy haze of light.

“Wow,” Chenle said, looking up at the small round bulbs that hung all around the roof.

“What?” Jisung asked, tilting his head to the side.

“They’ve never lit up before,” Chenle said, smiling up at Jisung. “You didn’t do this?” “No,” Jisung said, shaking his head. 

“I guess it must be the universe,” Chenle replied, his smile bright.

“It must be,” Jisung said, staring intensely at the small boy beneath him. Unable to help himself, Jisung leaned back down and kissed Chenle once more. This kiss was sweeter than the previous one. It was Jisung’s way of expressing his love for Chenle even more than he already had.

Jisung knew he was hopelessly in love with Chenle. There was nothing he could do to stop himself now. The tiny boy with bright white hair and an even brighter smile- he was the one Jisung loved.


	17. Chapter 17

_Saturday, June 20th - 10:00 pm_

After their first official date, Chenle and Jisung went on a short walk around the campus. Since most of the students who lived in the dormitories had moved out, the campus itself was relatively empty. The two boys took their time as the night came to a close, each step up the stairs being a minute long conversation about not wanting to go any further up, or them discussing how they could simply pack bags and run away together that night.

Unfortunately Jisung had spent entirely too much money on his tuition for him to opt for the runaway route, so he just decided to take his time during the walk to Chenle’s door.

“I don’t want to say goodnight,” Chenle complained, a deep pout now residing on his face as they stood right outside of his door.

“I don’t want to either, but we’ll see each other tomorrow… right?” Jisung asked, a glimmer in his eyes.

“Of course,” Chenle agreed. He leaned into the taller boy, wrapping his arms around his chest tightly. “But you can just stand here with me like this until tomorrow and then we would be able to see each other tomorrow _and_ stay together.” He said, his voice muffled by Jisung’s shirt.

“That’s a great idea,” Jisung confessed as he rubbed soft circles into Chenle’s back. “But I think we would end up falling asleep like this, and then Jaemin would step on us on his way out tomorrow, and I don’t want you to get stepped on.”

“He would step on us, wouldn’t he?” Chenle asked, raising his chin so he could look up into Jisung’s eyes.

“He would,” Jisung replied, raising his eyebrows in mock concern.

“Fine,” Chenle huffed. “But I want one more thing before you go… okay?” “Anything,” Jisung said.

“Kiss please,” Chenle said childishly as he puckered his lips and shook his head towards Jisung’s face.

“Of course,” Jisung muttered as he slowly stepped Chenle backward towards the wall, pinning him against it.

He smiled as he dipped his head down, meeting Chenle’s lips once again that night.

Jisung enjoyed having Chenle under him. 

He loved the feeling of the smaller boy’s lips against his, their delicate texture being much in contrast to his own rough lips.

After a few moments of kissing, Jisung pulled away and looked down at Chenle.

Chenle stared up at Jisung through furrowed eyebrows, his lips slick with moisture. Jisung nearly shuddered at the sight of the boy beneath him.

“What?” Jisung asked innocently.

“I wanted a kiss… not foreplay,” Chenle joked harshly. His pout deepened even more once he saw Jisung smirking above him.

“Okay, okay,” Jisung said, backing away from Chenle. He took his hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he stepped towards the door, opening it so Chenle could stand in the doorway.

“Goodnight,” Jisung whispered, squeezing Chenle’s hand as he leaned in and planted a gentle kiss against his lips.

Once Chenle reached his bedroom, he let himself celebrate.

He jumped up and down, spinning all around the room in a victory dance.

He threw himself onto his bed and grabbed a pillow, hugging it to his chest tightly, almost as an anchor to keep the butterflies inside of this stomach from making him float to the ceiling.

“Wow,” Chenle said to himself. “Could that have been any better? He… he kissed me…. A lot…” Chenle’s face was bright red as his thoughts traveled back to the feeling of Jisung’s lips on his.

 _That was amazing._ Chenle thought, closing his eyes and falling into a happy slumber.

_Friday, July 3rd - 9:35 pm_

Jisung and Chenle were sitting in the dining room in Jaemin and Chenle’s apartment, eating ramen and kimchi that Jaemin's mother had sent over.

It had been two weeks since their first date, and to say they found comfort within each other would be an understatement.

“Hey, Sungie,” Chenle said, reaching over and grabbing Jisung’s hand. “What’s up?” Jisung asked, looking up at Chenle.

“Do you want to go somewhere tonight?” Chenle asked, his face bright with excitement.

“Tonight?” Jisung asked, turning to look out the window of the living room. “It’s almost eleven… where do you want to go?”

“Just on a little adventure,” Chenle replied, a devilish smile coming onto his face. “I think maybe you deserve to be treated… after all you’ve done for me these last few months. How about that?”

“Sure," Jisung said, his eyes narrowing sweetly at his boyfriend.

~

Chenle led Jisung off of campus and to the center of the city.

It was a warm night, and a lot of people were out and about.

“Slow down a bit, will you? Wherever we’re going can wait,” Jisung said, his grip on Chenle’s hand tightening as the smaller boy was bounding down the street ahead of him like an excited puppy.

“I’m just really excited!” Chenle called. He looked back at Jisung, and the younger boy was suddenly reminded of the first time he saw Chenle in the bright light he stands in now.

_Jisung was on his way over to a study room to meet with his group mates for their architecture project, when he saw Chenle run past him._

_He looked over to the smaller boy, who flew up the sidewalk towards the building, his platinum blonde hair bouncing actively through the wind._

_It was as if time had slowed down, the way Jisung watched Chenle’s bright smile bound backward through the courtyard._

Looking back on the memory now, Jisung is glad he was able to see past his and Chenle’s differences and see him for who he really is, rather than who he perceived him to be.

“What are you thinking about?” Chenle asked Jisung, stopping momentarily so he could stand beside him.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Jisung lied. 

“Hmm…” Chenle hummed, looking up to the younger boy. “You’re lucky I know it’s me you’re thinking about.”

Jisung was about to respond when Chenle just laughed at his blushing face and carried on down the street, weaving in and out of people at a rapid pace.

After a few more minutes of walking, the pair finally came to a stop.

They were standing in front of a boarded-up storefront, but Jisung didn’t have time to question their location because Chenle was pulling out a key and dragging him inside before he could think about where they even were.

Once inside, Chenle shut the door behind Jisung and switched the lights on, illuminating the room.

The room was empty for the most part, but right in the center of it was a wooden easel with a black sheet covering it.

“What is this…?” Jisung asked, walking towards the easel.

“I’ve been thinking about these last few weeks,” Chenle began. “And it’s been perfect… better than that, actually. You’ve done more for me than I could ever ask for. I’m so grateful for you, and I wanted to try my best to show you my appreciation, even if it isn’t much. You can… lift the sheet.”

Jisung looked over to Chenle for a moment before nodding and uncovering the easel. 

Beneath the sheet was a blank canvas.

There wasn’t anything on it. 

It was simply a white canvas, sitting on top of a wooden easel.

Jisung turned to Chenle with a puzzled expression on his face.

“I’m grateful, of course, but… What is this?” Jisung asked.

“All these months you’ve been painting away up in that room, admiring this boy on the roof that you didn't even know,” Chenle said, walking towards Jisung. “But you didn't know who he was. You went so far as to have dreams where you were communicating with him, but you didn’t know what he looked like, or sounded like, or acted like. Well, Jisung,” He said, reaching forward and grabbing Jisung’s hands. “I’m the boy from the roof. And I’m here for you to paint with me as the subject. I want to be more than a stranger to you… more than a friend… I know we’re together, but I want to make this official. So, Park Jisung!” Chenle yelled, causing Jisung to look directly in his eyes. “Will you be more than the boy I threw my drink on? Will you be more than the boy who has helped me more times than I can count? Will you be my boyfriend?”

Without a word, Jisung pulled Chenle hard into his arms, planting a rough kiss on his soft lips. 

It was as if the world had stopped spinning, the way their connection was solidified.

Jisung was happy.

So, so, so happy.

“Of course,” Jisung said, pulling just a few inches away from Chenle so he could lean their foreheads together. “Zhong Chenle,” he whispered.

“Yes?” Chenle whispered back.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	18. Afterword

_Friday, June 5th - 2026 - 2:30 pm_

Jisung walked into the house, tossing his keys on the dining room table as he made his way to the bedroom.

He looked himself over in the mirror for a few seconds before loosening his tie and running his hands through his hair.

He sighed as he stepped into the bathroom and shed his clothes, opting to take a shower in the hottest temperature possible.

He was stressed, as per usual.

The water’s stream pelted hard against Jisung’s smooth skin, massaging his aching back and stiff shoulders.

He leaned against the cool wall of the shower while thinking back to the four-hour-long meeting he had just sat through.

 _At least it’s cleared,_ Jisung thought. _It’ll be up by the time Chenle is home from China, and then we can go on a nice long vacation for as long as we want. I just have to make it there._

Once he was done with his shower, Jisung stepped back into the bathroom and dried himself off, changing into a pair of clean painting shorts and a black t-shirt.

He walked from the bedroom into the kitchen, picking up a small bowl that sat on the counter and filling it with cold water.

“Bao!” Jisung called into the house. “Fresh water! I can see you didn’t enjoy the chicken flavored food I bought you… I guess I’ll get tuna next time,” he mumbled to himself as he walked down the hall and past Bao, who was walking to the kitchen.

Jisung walked to the back of the house and stepped into his studio- a large den with windows on all four walls, the view being his and Chenle’s backyard that Chenle had converted into a garden.

He smiled as he thought about the other boy.

“Time to get to work!” Jisung said to the blank canvas in front of him. “He’ll be home soon!”

Jisung lifted one of his paintbrushes, dipping into a brilliant vermillion green oil paint.

He waved the brush across the canvas, painting to the beat of his heart.

_Wednesday, June 10th - 2026_

Jaemin spoke with Chenle excitedly on the phone as he was sat on the floor of his and Jeno’s bedroom, folding laundry.

“How long has it been since you went to Shanghai?” He asked.

“…”

“No way!” Jaemin shouted. “Three weeks? Chenle!”

“…” 

“Still, if I left Jeno for that long he might croak- did you know he doesn’t know how to cook rice? Yeah! He burnt it two nights ago and we had to eat plain kimchi and dried fish for dinner. You know how he is, though. He just smiled like a dog, and of course, I forgave him.”

“...”

“He should be home in like five minutes,” Jaemin said, looking down at his watch. “Yeah, he said there was some big project his company started on so now he gets home super late. Good thing I work from home or else we would be eating take-out every night for dinner- Oh! I just heard the front door. I’ll let you go, okay? Have a safe flight! Yes, yes, see you soon! Love you!”

Jaemin stood from the floor, gathering the folded laundry and placing it on the bed before he left the bedroom and headed down the stairs to greet Jeno.

“Hey babe,” Jeno said as he took off his jacket and threw it over the back of the couch.

“Hey,” Jaemin greeted. He stepped right into Jeno’s arms. “I missed you today…”

“I missed you more,” Jeno replied. “This is the last week of late nights, though! So I’ll be home at a normal time starting Monday. How does that sound?” “Why don’t you just quit and spend the entire day with me here?” Jaemin asked as he batted his eyelashes at Jeno, a sly smile on his face.

“Hey, just a few more months and I’ll be on the top of my section okay?” Jeno said, pursing his lips. “I’ll be my own boss and then we can take a vacation with Jisung and Chenle. How does that sound?”

“That sounds like heaven,” Jaemin replied. “Chenle is coming home tomorrow, actually! He said he’s been away for three weeks because his project kept getting delayed or something. I’m sure Jisung was a mess over that.”

“Oh he was,” Jeno said, his eyes going wide. “He said he was working a lot, though. So I guess he was distracted.”

“You talked to him?” Jaemin asked, stepping away from Jeno and walking into the kitchen to start cooking dinner.

“Yeah, on the drive home,” Jeno said simply. “He said he has something special planned for Chenle’s return, though. So I guess you’ll be hearing about that this weekend.”

“I can’t wait,” Jaemin cheered. “I’m so glad everything worked out between them.”

“Me too,” Jeno said, smiling.

“I’m also glad everything worked out between us…” Jaemin said quietly.

“I’m really glad about that, too,” Jeno said, walking over to Jaemin and giving him a small kiss.

_Thursday, June 11th - 2026 - 11:00 am - Shanghai, China_

Chenle huffed as he stepped onto the sidewalk of the airport.

He glanced down at his watch, his eyes nearly coming out of his head.

 _I’m gonna be late!_ Chenle thought, picking up the pace as he lifted his suitcase and ran to the international terminal of the airport he was in.

After a quick run through security, Chenle thanked the Gods that he was able to board the plane at the final boarding call.

“What a mess that would have been,” Chenle said to himself as he settled into his seat. “Sungie would have killed me~” He sing-songed quietly, his head full of thoughts of Jisung.

As the plane took off, Chenle watched the clouds float beneath the wings of the plane, their white mist enveloping the windows and bringing the aircraft into a tight embrace.

 _Soon._ Chenle thought to himself. _Soon, I’ll be able to hug you again._

_Thursday, June 11th - 2026 - 1:45 pm - Seoul, South Korea_

Jisung was sitting in his car outside of the international terminal at Incheon International Airport, his hazard lights flashing at a near-rapid pace as he anxiously waited for Chenle.

The other boy had gone on a business trip three weeks ago, and he was finally coming home to Jisung again.

Tired of waiting, Jisung stepped out of the car, opting to wait coolly against the side of the car as his eyes frantically searched the crowd for Chenle’s familiar suitcase.

 _Where the hell is he?_ Jisung wondered as he looked down to his watch. _1:49 pm. His flight landed like twenty minutes ago…_

Before he could have another moment of unease, Jisung felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around his neck.

“...you!” Chenle said, his voice muffled against Jisung’s collar.

“What?” Jisung asked, as his hands immediately came up to squeeze Chenle’s waist.

“I said I missed you!” Chenle cheered as he pulled his head away from Jisung’s neck, revealing his red eyes and puffy lips- it was clear he had been crying.

“I missed you too,” Jisung said fondly, lifting his hand to pet Chenle’s head. “Why were you crying?”

“Because,” Chenle said, a pout coming onto his lips. “I haven’t seen you in so long, I thought you would forget what I looked like.”

“How could I ever forget such a pretty face?” Jisung asked as he leaned his forehead into Chenle’s.

“W-we should go home… please…” Chenle said shyly, his face burning red.

“Sure,” Jisung replied, peeling himself away from the smaller boy. He grabbed Chenle’s bags and put them in his trunk before he got into the driver’s seat and started to drive back home.

_Thursday, June 11th - 2026 - 8:30 pm_

Chenle and Jisung were sitting at their dining room table eating a take-out dinner from their favorite Italian restaurant.

“So what did you do while I was away?” Chenle asked. “Anything crazy?” He said, his eyes going wide with emphasis.

“N-not really,” Jisung lied.

“Really?” Chenle asked, his eyebrows furrowing in suspicion. “Then why does the house smell like oil paint?”

“No reason at all,” Jisung mumbled, an awkward grimace coming onto his face.

“Sure, sure,” Chenle said, nodding. “I won’t ask any more questions… it’s your work, so I’ll wait for you to tell me…” He looked up at Jisung with his wide, glossy eyes, an expression that he knew melted the other boy’s heart.

“Lele,” Jisung said in a grumble.

He knew what Chenle was trying to do.

He wanted him to tell him what had been working on while he was in Shanghai, what it was that kept Jisung away from the phone while Chenle tried to call him in the middle of the night, what it was that distracted him so much from the boy he loved.

It wasn’t so often that Jisung painted anymore.

He had started working at an art museum fresh out of college, and after working his way up for the last two years he had become the head of the art directory department- meaning that he had control over what was presented on the main floor of the gallery.

He didn’t have time to use his studio as much as he did when he and Chenle moved into their house, but whenever he did- Chenle knew.

Jisung’s natural scent had come to be that of oil paint and whatever mixing medium he was using that day, and Chenle loved it.

Most people enjoyed when their homes smelled of lavender or freshly cleaned linen, but Chenle loved the smell of stale oil paint- that aroma would lead him right into his and Jisung’s den at the back of the house, where all of Jisung’s paintings and painting supplies were.

Sometimes when Chenle couldn’t sleep he would lay on the floor of the den-turned-studio, and stare out into his dark garden while smelling Jisung all around him. Jisung would find him curled up in the center of the room the following morning, and didn’t ever complain when he would have to carry him back to their bed.

So yes, Chenle knew that Jisung had been painting while he was away.

He knew the moment he stepped into their house.

Chenle looked over to Jisung once more, his eyes big and doe-like.

Jisung sighed, unable to deny the other boy the information he was so tirelessly searching for.

“I’ve been working on something, yes,” Jisung began. He nearly smiled when Chenle’s face lit up with excitement at his words. “It’s been a little crazy, but if I may,” he said, rising from his chair and extending his hand out for Chenle to hold. “Would it be alright for me to invite you to an exclusive showing of the Park Jisung Collection at the Seoul Museum of Art?” He asked.

Chenle’s face lit up as he took Jisung’s hand and stood with him, the two boys stepping into the empty floor space before their living room.

“Of course that would be alright,” Chenle replied, wrapping his arms around the taller boy’s neck as they started to sway back and forth in a trance-like slow dance.

“Tomorrow night, 7:30. Be dressed in something nice,” Jisung mumbled against Chenle’s hair. “But, I suppose it won’t matter what you wear- you’ll be pretty no matter what.”

Chenle buried his face in Jisung’s neck, nodding vigorously in reply to his invitation.

_Friday, June 12th - 2026 - 7:00 pm_

Chenle was rushing around his and Jisung’s closet, searching for something to wear while Jisung was in the shower.

 _Something dark?_ Chenle wondered, picking up a black dress shirt from his side of the closet. _No, no… it probably won’t match my pants…_ He had already picked out a pair of plain, fitted black slacks to wear on the bottom, but now he just needed a shirt that made sense. _It’s summer… so maybe a brighter color?_ He looked through all of the colored dress shirts he owned, green, blue, red, orange, etc. None of them seemed good enough. 

“What about plain white?” A voice asked from behind Chenle. He turned around and saw Jisung standing in the doorway with a pair of dark green slacks on, a loose black dress shirt in his hands.

“Let me see…” Chenle said, trailing off as his eyes scanned the various white shirts before him. His eyes caught momentarily on a silk white shirt that Jisung had bought him as a gift for their first Christmas. He nearly laughed, thinking back to Jisung’s words when he handed him the gift box.

_“It’s kind of a funny gift,” Jisung had said, his eyebrows furrowed in nervousness as he kneeled before Chenle. “I hope you can figure out why… haha.”_

_Chenle smiled sweetly at Jisung before he had started to unwrap the box, opening it and discovering the white silk shirt within it._

_“A white dress shirt…” Chenle mumbled. “Like…” “The one you threw your drink on…” Jisung said shyly. “I hope you don’t think it’s corny or anything! I just saw it and thought it was so nice, and kinda funny… and I knew you would look good in it so-”_

_“Jisung!” Chenle called, a laugh erupting from his chest once he had heard Jisung’s rambling. “I love it.”_

Chenle smirked as he brought the shirt up to his torso.

“This one is perfect,” He said as he stepped out of the closet and into his and Jisung’s bedroom to get dressed.

_Friday, June 12th - 2026 - 7:30 pm_

Jisung and Chenle stepped out of the car and into the night air of Seoul.

They walked up to the glass doors of the art museum Jisung worked at, hand in hand as they weaved through the people at the front of the gallery.

The pair landed upon a large white curtain that stood at the center of the room. There was a sign that stood in front of it that said:

_The Park Jisung Collection: Opening Saturday June 13th_

Jisung smiled triumphantly at Chenle as he read the sign aloud to him.

They were the only two people in the room, since the collection was yet to be displayed to the public, so Chenle cheered loudly at Jisung’s declaration.

“I’m so proud of you!” Chenle shouted, his fists coming up into the air and shaking with excitement. 

“Thank you, thank you,” Jisung said, bowing to his crowd of one. “Now,” he said, taking a deep breath as he stood in front of the curtain. “This is my first ever gallery showing, and it is so, so, so immensely important to me. Chenle, I only have you to thank. Thank you for being my support system. Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you… for being my greatest inspiration, my one and only subject, and my muse. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. I love you.”

Chenle smiled as tears came to his eyes.

He stepped forward as Jisung opened the curtain and let him into the gallery.

There were nineteen canvases lining the room.

Chenle approached the first painting.

It was him.

He was standing with an empty glass in his hand, a hard expression on his face.

The next one was him sitting on the sidewalk with his hood up.

And then it was him with a dirtied bandage wrapped around his face.

Next was him in motion, a bright smile on his face as he raced passed the canvas’ surface.

The fifth canvas had him standing awkwardly in his pajamas in the stairwell of their old apartment building.

The next was him inside of the elevator.

Then it was him talking excitedly as he knelt on the floor of Jisung’s old bedroom.

The following canvas was his side profile as he was sitting in the lecture hall, watching an invisible presentation that was taking place at the front of the room.

And then it was him and Jisung standing outside of his calculus class.

The tenth painting was him with a bundle of red solo cups in his arms.

Then it was his hands holding two tiny pink pills.

Then it was him standing weakly against the background of Jisung and Jeno’s old kitchen, his face nearly red with anger.

Next was a scene Chenle didn’t recognize, but understood. He was sitting on the edge of the rooftop that sat beneath Jisung’s old studio room, his skin colorful against a harsh black background.

Chenle’s face grew red upon seeing the following canvas- it was him leaning over and whispering to Jisung’s sleeping figure, the words ‘I love you’ being invisible- but known.

The fifteenth canvas held Chenle standing in Jisung’s arms in the bit of courtyard that was behind the math department’s building at their old university- Hyunjin was sketched roughly onto the background.

Then, Chenle’s red face from the first time he confessed to Jisung.

The next painting being of his lips, slick with saliva after his first kiss with Jisung.

Next to last was Chenle standing in the doorway of his and Jaemin’s old apartment, reluctant to go inside and see Jisung off for the night.

The final painting was Chenle standing in the backyard of his and Jisung’s house, the greenery from his growing garden surrounding him in a vibrant display of green. He was bright, shining with the love that Jisung felt for him.

When Chenle was done looking at the paintings, he turned around to finally face Jisung- his face wet with tears- and red with love.

And there Jisung stood, a bashful expression on his face. 

“You did all of this…” Chenle croaked out. “For me?”

“I did this all for you, Chenle.” Jisung said, a strong resolve in his voice.

“Why?” Chenle asked, tears falling onto his white dress shirt.

“Because you’re everything to me,” Jisung explained as he stepped forward, walking over to the smaller boy. “Because my thoughts are all about you. Your face is something I see constantly. Every single memory that I cherish, was a moment that I spent with you.” He reached up and held Chenle’s face in his hands as he spoke, his palms becoming wet with the other boy’s tears. 

Chenle nodded as he looked up into Jisung’s eyes.

“You’re everything to me, too,” Chenle replied. “Thank you, Jisung.”

And so, there Chenle and Jisung stood, in the middle of an art gallery dedicated to Jisung’s true love. The only person in his life that he felt such strong admiration for. They shared a slow, passionate kiss as the memories of their youth came rushing by, illuminating their hearts with wonder.

To discover love is to find a great gift within the depressing cloud that life tends to be.

Chenle and Jisung were lucky to find one another.

And as Chenle would say, if it’s meant to be, it will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been an almost impossible journey. as i mentioned in the notes of chapter one, this fic exists solely because of something called the 'hell challenge' (made by @_renjaune_ on twt!). during the last month of writing i discovered new sides of myself, both good and bad. i faced so many new challenges and stressful situations, writer's block, lack of brainpower, lack of ideas, etc. but still, i powered through and wrote these 50,000 words. 50,000 precious words that are a part of me. thank you for reading. really. i hope you enjoyed this fanfiction. it is my soul.
> 
> _____
> 
> follow me on twt to find my other writings and send any questions or kind words to my curiouscat! both: @zhongwritings


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